The Lost Squadron
by mcmario
Summary: When Aerrow's squadron goes missing, he stops at nothing to get them back. But when he finally does, he cant help but think that there is something wrong with them.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own the Storm Hawks**

Atmos was peaceful. The day was blue, and fluffy clouds were scattered haphazardly across the sky. It was calm. Serene.

Faint shouts could be heard in the distance. The voices were discernable, although, due to the small explosions which sounded similar to fireworks, it was known that a battle was taking place.

f"You won't get away with this, Ravess!" Aerrow shouted as he sped by on his skimmer.

"Oh I beg to differ, young sky night"

Aerrow was furious. He had spent the last week with Radarr, looking all over Atmos for his squadron who had mysteriously gone missing on a routine patrol. Aerrow remembered the sick feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach as he returned to an empty Condor. Even Stork was gone.

Now, as he glanced back at his squadron chained to the wall, he knew Ravess and all the Cyclonians in general, had gone too far. And if it was the last thing he did; he would make sure they all payed.

Aerrow was brought out of his inner turmoil by an arrow speeding towards his chest. He thought quickly, performing a barrel roll in order to avoid being impaled on the sharp hazard.

_Pay attention Aerrow_! He thought to himself. _Just finish off Ravess and then you can get the guys!_

Suddenly, Ravess looked at him, then speaking into her intercom, she turned away from Aerrow.  
"Our little game will have to wait for another time, dear Aerrow!" she called mockingly "but for now, I must be doing more important things than playing with children!" and she sped off.

"Wait! I'm not finished with you!" Aerrow yelled, starting to go after her, but then thinking better of it, he turned and landed in front of his squadron.

"Guys!" he said, running over to them. "Are you ok? I've been searching everywhere for you all! What happened?" Aerrow asked in a rush.

"Just get us out of these chains!" Snapped Finn

Aerrow was slightly shocked at his tone, but complied, thinking he was just grumpy because of hunger or something.

He brought out his twin blades, and sliced through the chain as if it were butter.

"Those are pretty impressive weapons Aerrow" Said Piper, not fazed at all that she was just released from the prison that had held her for the past week.

"Yeah... you've seen them before Piper... Are you guys feeling ok?" Aerrow asked, feeling as though something was wrong. Aerrow couldn't explain why, maybe it was their lack of reaction after being released. I mean, he did just rescue them, and all Piper did was comment on his weapons.

"Yes, yes I know... thank you for releasing us" she stated and walked passed him.

"Took you long enough" muttered Finn, and he too walked passed Aerrow, but not without barging him rather hard in the shoulder.

Aerrow spun around, ready to react when Junko asked "Where's the Condor?" in a gruff voice, unlike his normal one.

"Radarr has it around the corner, he's gonna bring it here in a sec." Replied Aerrow distractedly. "You know how he's always wanted to fly it..." he trailed off as no one seemed to be listening to him.

What had gotten into these guys?

"You look like crap" a sly voice said from behind him.

Aerrow turned to see Stork a couple of inches away from him, staring him right in the face.

That was reasonable, thought Aerrow. He had been up for pretty much the entire week, scouring maps, thinking of possibilities and searching for his missing team. He had dark smudges under his eyes, he's face was pale and his normally shiny, bouncy hair was more dull and limp. He was in need of a well earned rest.

But before he could do such a thing, he needed to find out what had happened to his friends.

"Did Ravess do anything to you?" Aerrow asked his team at large, giving them a once over with his eyes. "Did she hurt you?"

They looked a bit ruffled and weather beaten, but apart from a few bruises, they looked fine.

"No" said Junko

"Are you sure?" he asked sceptically as he watched his team act stranger still as Radarr came around the corner, pulling the Condor up near the opening in which they were currently standing.

"Were fine" said Piper absently, her eyes on the Condor.

"Ok, if you're sure. Welcome back guys, I'm glad you're all ok" said Aerrow, trying to brush away the feeling of unease, putting it down to his team having been captured for a week, and he, not getting enough sleep.

He led them onto the ship, rolling his skimmer with him.

The group separated after that.

Radarr kept driving. They were going anywhere but here.

Aerrow left to put his skimmer in the hanger bay. The others went back to their rooms to rest.

After checking on Radarr and making sure he was ok to pilot for a while longer, Aerrow decided to go to bed.

He walked down the hall to his room and found Finn standing outside it.

"Are you ok Finn?" he asked worriedly as Finn just stared into Aerrow's open bedroom door, surveying it.

Finn spun around and upon finding Aerrow next to him, shoved him away.

Grunting slightly as he hit the wall behind him, Aerrow stood straight and looked at Finn closely

"What's gotten into you, man?" Aerrow asked.

"Nothing" snarled Finn.

"Then why the hell did you just shove me?" Aerrow hissed

"I'm just going to my room" Finn replied, all hostility in his voice gone.

"...Ookay..." said Aerrow unsure of what Finn and his many personalities would do next.

Finn just stood there.

"Well... aren't you gonna go?" Aerrow asked

Finn looked around and finally turned and went in the opposite direction in which his room was.

"Dude, your rooms thata way" called Aerrow, pointing down the hall from his room "doncha remember?" he asked, bemused.

Aerrow grasped Finn by the arm and dragged him to the door of his room.

Aerrow studied Finn closely for signs of recognition wondering if Finn's temper had anything to do with what Ravess may have done to him

"I'm fine Aerrow. She didn't do anything" Finn said, as if reading his thoughts "I'm going to bed." And he entered his room, slamming the door in Aerrow's face.

Feeling too tired to ponder on this strange behaviour any longer, Aerrow went to his own room. He sat on his bed. All his muscles ached. He was bone weary. He sighed. What was wrong with everyone? Were they mad at him for not finding them sooner? Aerrow decided he'd sleep on it, knowing his crew would feel better after a goodnights rest. Rolling over, he fell asleep instantly.

* * *

"_...Aerrow...help us..."_

Aerrow opened his eyes and was greeted with darkness

"_Come on man...got to get us out of here..."_ another voice echoed behind him. Aerrow spun, looking for the source of the sound

"_Help us...before it's too late..."_

The voices faded.

* * *

Aerrow awoke with a start, sitting straight up in bed. _What a strange dream_ he thought.

He blinked the sleep from his eyes and glanced at the clock. It was 9:00 am.

He rolled out of bed and all the aches and pains of the previous day made themselves known. Aerrow shuffled over to he's wardrobe where he got dressed and stumbled out of the room.

The cool air of the morning woke Aerrow up a bit more as he walked in the kitchen. Piper and Finn were looking in the cupboards, muttering to each other, but stopped the moment they realised Aerrow had entered.

"Hey guys, sleep well?" Aerrow asked as he walked to the fridge and took a swig of milk right from the carton.

"Where is the cereal?" Finn asked Aerrow

"Are we out? I thought we had a full supply?" Aerrow asked incredulously. He opened the cupboard above the fridge and saw the cereal, which there was plenty of. He pulled it down and handed it to Finn.

"Did you even look?" Aerrow asked him eyebrows raised, glancing at Piper who looked uneasy

Finn took the cereal and looked at Aerrow, at a loss of what to say. Aerrow was seriously beginning to think Ravess did something to alter Finn's memory.

Finn opened the fridge and got the milk. "I remember where the milk is, see?" he indicated and sat at the table with the cereal. "Piper, can u get me a bowl and spoon?" he looked at Piper who gave him a withering look

Aerrow looked at Piper to see what she would do. Piper looked around uncertainly and slowly walked over to a cupboard next to the sink. She opened it slowly and let out a cry of triumph as she retrieved a bowl and spoon. Walking over to Finn she slammed them in front of him and hissed "next time, get it yourself" and left the room without further a due.

Aerrow riffled around the kitchen for a while to look for food while Finn ate quietly at the table. Before long Finn had finished and left, leaving his plate on the table for someone else to clean up.

Well at least his bad habits haven't changed, thought Aerrow, although if that was a good thing, he couldn't tell.

Aerrow finally decided on cereal as well, and sat down to pour some. Upon leaving the kitchen, Aerrow was once again lost in his thoughts over the strange behaviour of his crew, and didn't notice Junko coming until he ran smack into him.

"Watch it kid!" Junko snarled and grabbed Aerrow by the throat and slammed him into the wall, lifting his feet a couple of inches off the floor.

"Junko! S-stop!" Aerrow gasped out.

Junko, at the sound of his name, blinked, and seemed to realise what he was doing. He hurriedly placed Aerrow back on the ground again.

Aerrow glanced at Piper and Finn who had run over and were glaring at Junko. Aerrow was catching his breath as he turned to Junko. Junko was looking nervously at the floor.

"Uh...sorry...Aerrow" he said eventually, "kinda lost it there for a moment"

"Uh...it's ok big fella" Aerrow said nervously, rubbing his neck which was already starting to bruise.

"Junko!" snapped Piper "May I have a word with you?"

Junko looked at her with dread, and reluctantly gave a short nod and followed her to the hangar bay.

As they left, the hall was silent.

"So Finn... did you wanna go practice sparring on our skimmers?" Aerrow asked.

Everyone had an awkward feel about them and Aerrow decided he was going to get to the bottom of it. He would be able to talk to Finn first as they sparred. Finn was acting the strangest.

"Sure" Finn's face lit up, a deadly smile graced his features.

Aerrow stepped back unwillingly, the feral smile freaking him out a bit.

Aerrow was saved from a response by Stork who just entered the hall.

"Stork, can you take over piloting from Radarr? He must be exhausted." Aerrow led the way to the main cockpit where Radarr was sitting, cruising the ship at an easy pace, no destination in particular at this point in time.

"Sure thing_ boss_" Stork said, stalking past him.

Radarr jumped down from his seat and headed for Aerrow's room for some rest.

"Remember to keep an eye out for Talons ok?" Aerrow reminded him.

Both Stork and Finn stiffened at those words. Aerrow noticed and assumed they must still be feeling uneasy about being captured.

"Don't worry guys, I doubt there will be any." He said breezily. "Come on Finn" he said, leading the way to the hangar bay.

As they neared, Piper came out, followed by Junko who was nursing his hand.

"What's wrong Junko?"

Junko kept walking

"Junko?" Aerrow asked again

Junko started, then turned to face Aerrow

"Nothin' Aerrow, just hurt my wrist."

"If you're sure..."

"Where are you going?" Piper asked suddenly

"Me and Aerrow are going on our skimmers for some sparring" Said Finn, looking directly at Piper. They looked meaningfully at each other and Aerrow thought he definitely needed to talk to them later about what was going on. Piper smirked and simply said "have fun" and left.

Once Aerrow and Finn were in the air, they began to fight. Finn would shoot arrows at Aerrow who would deflect them with his swords. They looped around each other, spinning and diving to avoid hits. Seeing as Radarr was asleep, Aerrow was unable to jump off his skimmer like he usually did.

As time went on, the sparring turned more serious as they competed with each other. Finn seemed to be full of energy. Aerrow was still a bit tired from his week without sleep, but he tried not to let it show. As it got later in the day, he started to slip up, making mistakes as he grew wearier.

Finn only grew more aggressive, seeing his leader tire.

Aerrow rolled upside down in order to avoid an arrow. Once he was right-side-up again, he quickly scanned the area for Finn.

Suddenly, out of no- where, Finn dropped down from the coverage of clouds, precipitation clinging to him from the moist air. He rammed into Aerrow's left side as hard as he could. Finn heard a satisfying pop as the force of the blow disconnected Aerrow's shoulder from its socket. The force also sent Aerrow flying to the right. Nearly falling off his skimmer, Aerrow heard Finn laugh. He let out a pained scream. Fire had erupted in his shoulder, running up his arm making it nearly impossible to move. Darkness crept into the edge of his vision as he looked around for the Condor. He saw Finn, flying in to land, and realised he wasn't coming to help him. Aerrow concentrated with all his might and wobbly aimed for the Condor, right handed. As he neared the landing strip, he pulled up and touched down. All was going well until a particularly painful throb in his shoulder had him tipping off the side of his bike. He tumbled to the ground and his skimmer skidded to a stop.

Aerrow lay panting on the ground, not daring to move. He could hear Finn walking over to him slowly. Feet appeared in front of his face. Aerrow looked up into Finn's laughing eyes.

"Got ya pretty bad there huh?"

Aerrow stared at Finn with pain glazed eyes. "I think it's dislocated" he groaned, then started trying to breathe through the pain, but finding it impossible.

Finn crouched down beside Aerrow and grabbed his left arm.

Aerrow moaned. "What are you doing?" he slurred as a fresh wave of pain washed over him. "Go get Stork, he can pop it back in..." the thought of Stork popping his shoulder back in it's socket made Aerrow want to throw up right then and there.

Finn squeezed his arm and Aerrow screamed again "Stop it!"

A twisted grin appeared of Finn's face and a thought suddenly struck Aerrow.

"You're not Finn!" he gasped out

Before he could say any more, Piper, Junko and Radarr burst in. All the shouting had attracted their attention.

Radarr scurried over to Aerrow and sniffed his shoulder, his face a picture of distress.

"What happened?" Piper asked in a no nonsense tone.

Finn dropped Aerrow's arm and stood up, walking over to Piper

"The gig is up" he said

Piper looked at him menacingly "already?"

"Thank god" Muttered Junko

Aerrow sat on the ground next to Radarr, watching their conversation in confusion. There was no way those guys were his squadron.

"Who are you?" Aerrow said quite calmly, considering the circumstances. He reached up his right arm and withdrew one of his lightning blades. His left arm was cradled in his lap.

All three of them turned to look down on Aerrow. Finn stepped forward and drew out a crystal from his back pocket. He held it in front of him looking at it thoughtfully.

"Do you know what this is Aerrow?" he asked. It was a black crystal with cracks running through it. Through the cracks you could see a glowing red.

Aerrow recognised the crystal instantly and with a sudden pang of dread realised what it must mean.

"A Chroma Crystal... they have the ability to-"

"Change the appearance of the user" finished Finn off for him.

Aerrow remembered when he and Piper had used them to bring down the Talon Academy a while back.

"In this case, we made our appearance to look like your beloved squadron" mocked Finn, or, whoever he was.

"Who ARE you?" Aerrow ground out although he already had a growing suspicion of whom.

"See for yourself" said 'Junko' as they each pulled out their crystals and threw them on the ground at Aerrow's feet.

In a flash of light there, in Junko, Finn and Pipers place, stood Snipe, Dark Ace and none other than Master Cyclonis.

Radarr began to growl deep within his throat as the enemy's true faces were revealed.

"You've been planning this from the start!" Aerrow said, scrambling to his feet as fast as he could. His left arm flopped down uselessly beside him and he cringed as it swung a little from the movement. He didn't notice as Radarr started to creep away from him towards the skimmers. The three advanced on Aerrow slowly, enjoying how uncomfortable they were making him.

"Where is my squadron?" Aerrow asked his blade lighting up in a brilliant electric blue.

"Right where we left them" said Master Cyclonis.

Aerrow let out an aggravated huff. "_Where are they?_ If you've done something to them I swear you'll live to regret it!"

"Was that a threat?" questioned Master Cyclonis in an amused voice. "I wouldn't threaten me, considering the company you are in, boy" They advanced ever closer to Aerrow, who retreated further down the ship so he was at the start of the landing strip.

He held his blade out in front of him and Dark Ace drew out his own weapon.

"Why are you here? What do you want?" Aerrow could only think to stall them until he came up with a plan.

"Let me answer your question with another question" Master Cyclonis said as Aerrow stumbled a bit from walking backwards."What is a Squadron without its leader?"

There was a thin layer of sweat streaked across Aerrow's brow, brought about by the pain in his shoulder, his exhaustion which seemed to be leaking him of energy by the second, and the current situation he had gotten himself into.

His mind was racing as he looked around. He was in over his head. Suddenly, he realised Radarr was missing. Hopefully he was doing something useful.

Master Cyclonis turned to Dark Ace "Finish him" then she turned to Aerrow "it's been a pain knowing you, sky night... oh and thanks for the Condor, I will have fun destroying it"

Dark Ace advanced on Aerrow who, without the use of both his arms was unable to use his lightning claw manoeuvre, which is the only move he could use to stand a chance against Dark Ace at the moment. He was in no shape for close combat. Even the slight movement of Aerrow walking backwards was causing so much pain; he wasn't sure how long he could stay conscious.

Once again looking around desperately now, and he was unprepared when the sound of his air skimmer roared to life. Everyone turned to the source of the noise and Aerrow breathed a sigh of relief when Radarr steered his skimmer around Dark Ace and skidded to a stop behind Aerrow.

Aerrow grinned at the outraged looks on the other's faces as he jumped on the bike behind Radarr, who obviously could see that Aerrow was in no shape to fly. The grin was quickly wiped from his face as a blast of red energy narrowly missed his head. "Later guys! It's been real. And just so you know, you make sucky Storm Hawks!"

As Radarr took off from the landing strip, Aerrow patted him on the back with his good arm.

"Nice work Radarr. You always have my back" His fatigue was starting to catch up with him and he slumped forward slightly. He felt a stab of regret at the thought of leaving the Condor in the hands of such evil. If Master Cyclonis made good on her word, he would probably never see it again.

"Set a course for back the way we came Radarr. If we're gonna start looking anywhere, we should start where we rescued the imposters in the first place." He said tiredly. He turned to look over his shoulder to make sure Dark Ace and the others weren't following. It didn't look like it, but he would keep checking to make sure.

It was going to take a while to get back to the Terra they were on. At least the Condor wasn't going particularly fast. He just hoped they had enough fuel.

* * *

"What should we do Master?" Dark Ace questioned

"There is no rush; we know where he is going. Tell the Talon piloting that he doesn't need his crystal anymore and to set a course back to the Terra. Aerrow will look for his Squadron there." She then turned to Snipe "And as for you... you have got to be the worst actor on the whole of Atmos! Why did you start strangling him? That is what would have given us away! Remind me to never take you on an important mission again!"

"I said I was sorry Master, it was an accident. He ran straight into me, I just forgot I was disguised as that Wallop" he whined

"Be glad I don't break your other hand!" she snapped back at him and stalked away.

They set out after the Air Skimmer at a steady pace.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own the Storm Hawks :)**

It had been several hours since the run in with Cyclonis and her minions, and Aerrow was exhausted. He couldn't fix his shoulder on his own and Radarr wasn't strong enough to do it. He felt bad for his little friend. He had been driving all night with the Condor, then only got a few hours sleep before he had to come and save Aerrow's butt. Now he was flying the skimmer with Aerrow slumped behind him, barely conscious. Aerrow gathered Radarr would be tired as well, but they were surrounded by sky. There was nowhere to land for at least another several hours.

Aerrow shivered in the cold. Night had set by now, and the few clothes Aerrow was wearing did nothing to protect him from the harsh chill wind that was cutting into him from his position on the skimmer.

Radarr kept muttering and snuffling to himself.

"You all righ' Radarr?" Aerrow slurred, hugging himself with his good arm.

Radarr turned to look at Aerrow a bit, and nodded in response.

The concerned Animal noted the flush in Aerrow's cheeks and realised he probably had a fever. Quickly jumping from the position of the pilot to the co-pilot's seat, he retrieved a small blanket and tossed it to Aerrow

"thanks Radarr" said Aerrow as he struggled to pull it over him in the wind. Just as he thought he had it, the blanket slipped off and fell into the darkness below.

Aerrow groaned. Radarr rolled his eyes.

"sorry man, I think I dropped it..." Aerrow said feeling out of puff from his struggle with the material.

"I appreciate all you've done Radarr" said Aerrow more to himself as he gave in to the pull of sleep which beckoned to him.

Radarr checked to make sure Aerrow wasn't about to follow the blanket off the skimmer, and went back to driving. There wasn't much else he could do but try and reach their destination as soon as possible.

* * *

Dawn eventually came and with it, brought the harsh sunlight. Aerrow awoke slowly, feeling the pull of sleep beckoning him to lay back down again and rest his eyes a little longer.

Momentarily forgetting about his shoulder, Aerrow sat up suddenly. He sucked in a sharp breath at the pain, then remembered the previous days events.

He looked at Radarr, who seemed to bearly keep his eyes open. They were both chilled to the bone and exhausted.

"Here Radarr, let me fly for a while. I'm ok." Aerrow offered.

Radarr jumped. He hadn't realised Aerrow was awake. He reluctantly nodded, too tired to argue. Radarr jumped into the side cart and curled into a ball to get some well earned rest.

Aerrow slid forward into his seat and took control. Glancing at the fuel gauge, he groaned at the sight of it being nearly empty. He cast an eye around to look for any sight of land. They had been flying for hours and hours.

Flying one handed, Aerrow eventually found himself in a trance. His flying was a repetition of checking the fuel, glancing around for Terras, looking behind him to make sure the Condor wasn't any where in sight, then looking forward again.

After an hour or so of this, he realised he was staring at a black spec in the distance.

Not bothering to wake Radarr up until he was sure it was a threat, he headed for it. It was a skimmer, but he couldn't tell who was flying.

After a few minutes, Aerrow breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Starling. She had obviously seen him coming too, and they met halfway in a few minutes.

"S-Starling!" Aerrow said as they closed the distance and she flew along side him.

"Aerrow, what are you doing all the way out here?"

"Oh, nothing... well actually, I guess I'm looking for land... seen any?" he asked, trying to keep it together. His voice was slightly rusty from lack of use.

"A few hours ago. I was actually on my way to the Condor... there have been some rumours flying around about your crew... are you ok?" she asked, only just noticing Aerrow's dishevelled appearance.

"n-not really" Aerrow admitted. "It's a longish story."

"Good God Aerrow, what happened to your arm?" Starling gasped, seeing it hanging in his lap, unused.

"it's dislocated, I didn't have anyone to put it back..." Aerrow trailed off

"You have some explaining to do" Starling said "but first, ill fix your shoulder."

Their skimmers hovered next to each other in the middle of nowhere.

"Brace yourself Aerrow, this is gonna hurt, but I promise, it will feel a lot better afterwards." She reassured him.

"Alright..." Aerrow was nervous as Starling leaned over and held his left arm in a firm but gentle grip.

"Just breath" she said and suddenly, wrenched his arm backwards and up.

Aerrow didn't scream this time. He instead clenched his teeth together and screwed his eyes shut against the pain that suddenly flared along the left side of his body. There was another 'pop' and the pain died down to a bone deep throb. It felt a lot better already.

Once again, Aerrow's world started to darken around the edges and he could feel himself slipping. Strong hands caught him and steadied him on his skimmer.

By this time, Radarr had woken up and had a supporting paw on Aerrow's other arm.

Breathing hard, Aerrow opened his eyes, and willed the darkness away. It seemed like forever, but finally Aerrow could see straight. Feeling very nauseous, Aerrow leaned forward and rested his forehead against the front of his skimmer, his left arm once again held close to his body in his lap.

"We need to strap your shoulder, it's incredibly swollen, but we can't do it here. Let's head back to the Terra I saw earlier." Starling looked concerned at Aerrow. He was a lot different since the last time she saw him. He was pale, thin and sick. She had felt the heat coming off his body when she steadied him and knew instantly that he had a fever.

A sudden beeping coming from Aerrow's skimmer drew her attention. The fuel light was blinking.

"we better get a move on Aerrow, your almost out of fuel" she muttered. A sudden idea popped into her head and she retrieved a rope and hook from her skimmer. Attaching it to Aerrow's and hers, she started to fly forward.

"just relax and get some rest Aerrow, ill toe you to the Terra." She called over her shoulder

"thanks Starling..." Aerrow mumbled, but it wasn't nearly loud enough for Starling to hear over the roar of the skimmers engine. Aerrow slowly leant forward and rested his head on the warm engine of his skimmer and fell asleep.

Starling glanced back at Aerrow who was already dead to the world. Even from where she was some 7 meters away, she could see the flush in his cheeks. He was getting worse. Hopefully, now that he was resting, he would get better. _Doubtful _she thought. Who knows how long Aerrow had been out in the cold for? She didn't worry about Radarr, after all, he did have a layer of fur.

She sighed and thanked whoever was up there, that she arrived when she did, and was able to help Aerrow_. Now where was that Terra?_

* * *

_Cold. So cold._ Were the first thoughts that drifted into Aerrow's head as he curled into a ball in an attempt to gain some warmth. The next thought was, _huh, I'm on land. _

He blearily opened his eyes and found it was late afternoon, or was it early morning? He decided he didn't care. He slowly sat up, and rotated his left shoulder a bit. It was incredibly bruised and even more, stiff. Down at his side, Radarr was curled up in a fluffy ball, sleeping soundly.

A rustling in the bushes startled him into a standing position. He swayed where he stood. He really wasn't feeling all that well.

Starling appeared carrying a stack of wood. "oh your awake" she said brightly. "we just got here. You slept a full 5 hours. I was worried you'd never wake up" she joked. Aerrow didn't hear the underlying worry in her voice.

"what's the time?" Aerrow asked, holding his head.

"Not sure, it's late afternoon. Just thought I'd get a fire going, see if I could get you warmed up."

She smiled at him and dumped the wood in a pile. Aerrow started to walk away.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" Starling asked him

"To get more wood" Aerrow answered, as if stating the obvious.

Starling had to laugh at his determination to help out. He truly was a good leader. "No Aerrow, you just sit down. I've got this under control."

"No no, it's ok, I can help" Aerrow muttered, out of breath just from standing up.

"Aerrow, listen to me. Your sick and you're not going to get better until you rest." She walked over to him and led him back to the wood pile and forced him to sit down.

"fine" he sighed wearily.

"good" satisfied with the answer, Starling left to get more wood. Before long, they had a small, but very warm fire crackling away.

Aerrow edged closer to the fire, still feeling chilly.

Starling sat down next to him. "So tell me. Where are the rest of the Storm Hawks? How did I come by their leader in the middle of nowhere, almost passed out with their shoulder dislocated? Where is the Condor?"

Aerrow looked at her with eyes which used to be so bright and happy. Now they were just full of weariness.

"well, what have you heard?" Aerrow asked, remembering Starling talking about some rumours.

"All I heard was that the Storm Hawks had gone missing and you had been sighted looking for them everywhere. I thought that you might need help so I traced where your ship was and headed out to find you. I was travelling for about two days when I found you." She finished.

Aerrow nodded. "Yeah. Almost two weeks ago, I came home from a patrol to find everyone missing. There was no sign of a struggle. I didn't hear any battles, nothing. It was kind of creepy. I waited around for a few hours in case it was some kind of joke, but no one turned up. I started to get worried and tried calling them on the radio. Basically, I started searching and asking people if they had seen anyone by their description. No one had seen or heard a thing. It took an entire week, but I finally found them, but only through a message from Ravess. She said she had them, and if I wanted them back I had to go through her.

"so I met her, and fought her, but she suddenly left saying she had better things to do. I was confused, but decided to see if everyone was ok. They acted strange but I thought they were just tired or something. Later, Finn- who it turned out to be Dark Ace- and I were sparring and he dislocated my shoulder. That's when I found out who they were. They used a chroma -crystal. Me and Radarr hauled ass outa there. Then found you. I need to find them..." Aerrow finished.

His lengthy speech left him feeling tired. He left so many things unsaid. How worried he was for his team, how mad he got at Ravess, and how hurt he felt when his 'supposed family' treated him like dirt. As he thought this, he felt a pang inside of him. Words couldn't express how worried he was. Where was his family? Where would he find them? He realised Starling was talking and forced his attention back to her.

"first thing tomorrow, we'll set of to where Ravess challenged you. We will start looking there" she said.

"Thanks Starling. I really appreciate your help. "Aerrow was a bit embarrassed at how much he had depended on her the last few days. Normally he would stubbornly refuse help, but the matter had been out of his hands.

"No worries" Starling reassured him, and playfully pushed his shoulder, forgetting he was sick.

Aerrow fell to the side, his normally quick reflexes failing him as he crashed to the ground.

"Oh! Sorry Aerrow! I forgot" Starling apologised, helping Aerrow sit up again. "Let me go get you some food" and she got up and left.

When she returned, Aerrow was asleep again. She couldn't help but admire his determination to help his team, even though he was so obviously not well enough to do so.


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own the Storm Hawks :) :)**

Bright and early the next morning, Aerrow was shaken awake. He groaned and attempted to roll over. His sore shoulder reminded him that it wasn't possible to do that at the moment.

"Aerrow get up! Now!" and again, the incessant shaking continued to wake him from his slumber

"What?" Aerrow mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

Starling grabbed him under his armpits and tugged him too his feet. "Come _on_ Aerrow, we've gotta get out of here!"

It was then that Aerrow heard the unease in her voice. Becoming slightly more alert instantly, he glanced around, looking for danger. "What?" he asked her

Starling grabbed his good arm and dragged him towards the bushes on the side of the clearing where their skimmers sat.

Completely ignoring his questions she said "I put more fuel in your skimmer from mine. It should last until we reach a more occupied Terra. From there we can get you cleaned up and start looking for your friends" she said in a rush.

Aerrow dislodged her vice like grip on his arm and stepped back from her. "What. Is. The. Matter?" he asked her slowly.

Starling pointed to the sky just as a dark shadow fell over them.

Above them flew the Condor with about 15 Talons on skimmers surrounding it.

"I don't think they have seen us..." Starling muttered, once again dragging a stunned Aerrow into the bushes

Aerrow looked around and saw scuff marks on the ground "what were you doing while I was asleep?" he asked looking at the dirt smeared grass

"That was here when we arrived last night" Starling said distractedly still looking at the skies as they crouched down in the shrubs

They waited for about half an hour, hardly daring to talk. Finally, Starling deemed it safe to come out. Aerrow stood up on stiff legs. His muscles ached from lying on the ground. His fever, however, had gone down considerably.

"What way to the next Terra?" he asked lightly, stretching his arms and back

"Just follow me ok?" Starling said, agitated.

"Yeah, ok." Aerrow climbed aboard his skimmer, while Radarr jumped in the seat next to him.

"We better be careful of the Cyclonian's" Aerrow said to her as she climbed onto her skimmer

"You don't need to tell me twice" she replied.

They fired up their skimmers and were away

Aerrow could now hold the handle bars with both hands. It was difficult to steer, but he found he had more balance this way.

They flew for about 2 hours until they came to a largely populated Terra.

_We could lose ourselves in that crowd_ _easily_ thought Aerrow as they headed down.

They stopped at a bar in the main district.

"We'll only be here for the day until we get your shoulder looked at" Starling said as she eyed his swollen shoulder.

Just then Radarr's stomach grumbled rather loudly.

"And until we get some food" Starling added. Aerrow was pretty hungry too, he realised. He patted Radarr on the head and followed Starling to the medic centre.

They sat side by side in the waiting room, waiting to be called in.

"Aerrow" called a nurse "the doctor will see you now" she spoke

"Did you want me to come in with you?" Starling asked

"What, am I 4?" said Aerrow, embarrassed.

Starling laughed. "Very well" she said

"Actually," said the nurse, "were you the one who popped his shoulder back in?"

"Yeah..." Starling replied

"Well, the doctor wants to talk to you"

Sighing, Aerrow and Starling both got up. Radarr stood to follow but the nurse told him he wasn't allowed in. Radarr scowled and sat back down.

* * *

The door swung shut behind Aerrow and Starling with a resounding thud.

"Aerrow and Starling?" asked a voice belonging to an old man.

"Yeah" said Aerrow

"You" the doctor said pointing at Aerrow, "you sit up there on that bench, and you miss, can take a seat" Aerrow and Starling complied.

The doctor sat behind his desk and surveyed the two. "I hear young Aerrow had his shoulder dislocated and you popped it back in?" he asked Starling

"This is true" Starling answered, "I've had some first aid training"

"Well done then." The doctor said, standing up and walking towards Aerrow

"Now if you'll take off your shirt, let me take a look at that shoulder" he said to Aerrow.

Aerrow took off his shirt with great difficulty and a lot of pain. The doctor tutted as he examined the bruising and swelling of his arm. The bruise began from his left shoulder blade, over his shoulder and down almost to Aerrow's elbow.

"How long did you leave it before it was re-placed?" the doctor asked

"Uh, it was about 5 hours before Starling came... I think." It was all a bit blurry to Aerrow now.

The doctor sighed. "You must have been in a great deal of pain..." he trailed off and poked the fat swollen shoulder with a pointy finger

"OW!" Said Aerrow, leaning away from the offending hand

"Yes, this will definitely need to be bandaged" the doctor concluded as he reached up to a cabinet and retrieved a bandage and tape and a jar of ointment.

"This will help ease the swelling" the doctor said, handing it to Aerrow, "put it on once a week. You're lucky it isn't worse" he finished as he started taping and bandaging Aerrow up. By the time he was finished, Aerrow felt a lot better. The constant throb had lessened to an occasional painful twinge.

"Thanks" said Aerrow, getting up from the bench and pulling his shirt back on.

"Glad I could help" said the kind doctor.

Once they had collected Radarr, they grabbed some food and by midday, Aerrow was once again rearing to find his missing crew.

They walked together back to their skimmers, discussing plans for the search and rescue mission.

"We'll need to head back to where I last started searching which is about 3 hours east" Aerrow concluded as they jumped on the bikes.

"Lead the way"

Aerrow took off with Starling following behind.

About an hour into the trip, Aerrow could hear Starling muttering something.

"What did you say?" he called back

"What? Nothing, just talking to myself" she yelled back

_Strange..._ Aerrow thought.

* * *

The terrain started to look familiar as they neared their destination.

Finally, Aerrow spotted the wall which had had his fake team chained against it. He skidded to a stop next to it. Starling landed a moment later.

Aerrow looked around and saw the cliff edge. That was where he fought Ravess. He cringed, remembering the fight.

"Bad memories?"She asked as Starling, noticed the look on his face.

"Yeah, this is where me and Ravess fought" he voiced

"it must have been pretty annoying, having to search everywhere for your squadron, only to find out you had been tricked?" she asked

"I guess... can we not talk about it?" he said, feeling quite down. He just wanted to find his friends. "Let's just keep looking"

"Yes of course" answered Starling and she moved off "tell me, where we're they chained?" she called over her shoulder

Aerrow stiffened. _No way,_ he thought to himself. He glanced at Starling, looking at her carefully.

"Aerrow?" she repeated

"Oh, uh, over there" he said distractedly. He watched Starling walk over in the direction he had pointed, to examine the wall.

While she was crouching down, Aerrow reached up for his lightning blades. Slowly, he walked over to the wall as well, igniting the blades behind his back as he went. He knew he only had limited use of his shoulder, but two blades were better than one.

He waited until he was right behind Starling. She hadn't noticed him yet.

"Look Aerrow, I can't see anything. Maybe we should search somewhere else" she stood up and turned around to find Aerrow only inches away from her.

Aerrow brought out his blades and swung the hilt of one towards her head.

Starlings eyes went wide as she saw what Aerrow was about to do. She ducked down and swept his legs from underneath him with a swift kick.

Aerrow fell down with a thud, jarring his arm. Recovering quickly, he rolled before Starling's nunchaku could hit him in the face.

As he rolled, he jammed Starling's legs together with his own, overbalancing her. She fell back and hit her head on the wall behind her.

Aerrow got up and walked closer to the still figure lying away from him.

He leaned over, reaching for her shoulder when suddenly Starling sprung to life again, and swung her nunchaku around to hit Aerrow directly in the cheek.

Aerrow heard his cheek bone crack from the blow. He stumbled back, gripping his face in a haze of pain.

Aerrow found himself, once again that week, fighting off the darkness trying to pull him into unconsciousness. Along with a sore shoulder, he now had a pounding headache which was doing its best to make him want to throw up. He pushed down the nausea and dizziness. Fun.

He gathered himself and faced Starling who was getting up off the ground, holding the back of her head. She didn't look much better.

Aerrow had an advantage. He still had hold of his weapons. 'Starling' had dropped hers

"What the hell Aerrow?" Starling puffed as they squared off with each other

"Who are you?" Aerrow hissed

"What are you talking about? Are you feeling all right?" she looked worried and angry at the same time.

"You're not Starling. I didn't tell her about the chains holding the guys" he finished, pointing an electric blue directly at Starlings face.

Immediately, Starlings features changed. Gone was the worried and concern. In its place was hate and annoyance.

"Get that thing out of my face, before you get hurt" she spat.

Aerrow couldn't take it anymore. Who could he trust? No one was who they said they were. At least he had discovered this imposter before it was too late. This way, he was at an advantage, holding would be Starling at knife point.

"Tell me who you are, or I slit your throat" Aerrow said, beyond pissed off.

'Starling' remained silent. Without a word, Aerrow flipped the blade and brought the hilt crashing down onto her temple, knocking her unconscious.

She dropped like a sack of potatoes at Aerrow's feet.

Groaning, Aerrow once again held his face. The right side of his entire face had gone red and puffy. It hurt to talk, to blink, to breathe. Aerrow was certain he wouldn't be able to smile in a while, although, there was nothing really to smile about. He thought grimly.

He crouched down in front of 'Starling' and patted her down. He eventually found the Chroma Crystal, and put it in his pocket.

Bright shining light blinded him slightly as it surrounded 'Starling', transforming her into her true form.

Lying before him was Ravess. Aerrow sighed.

Aerrow didn't know how long Ravess was pretending to be Starling for. Had it been Ravess the entire time? Was it Ravess who popped his shoulder back in place? Taken care of him when he was so close to passing out from exhaustion?

Aerrow numbly tied her hands and ankles together with some rope from his skimmer, and dragged her over to an area where he set up a fire. He then checked her pulse and injuries to make sure she wasn't going to die on him.

He sat down to wait. When she woke up, he had some questions for her. Now all he had to do was wait.

He settled on the grass. Radarr came and sat next to him. They shared a worried glance. It had been nearly 3 weeks since he had last seen his squadron. That's nearly a month.

He needed to find them. And as soon as possible. _No more of this stuffing around_, he thought. When Ravess woke up; he would get answers out of her, if it was the last thing he did.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Storm Hawks**

**I just want to say thank you for everyone that's reviewed so far, you guys really made my day. You were my first reviews EVER!**

**Here is the next chapter. I'm not sure how much longer the story will go for. I think I'm nearly finished :) a couple more chapters maybe?**

* * *

"So, it looks like it's just you and me Radarr...again" Aerrow said glumly as he sat by the fire.

After a restless sleep, it was now early morning. Aerrow was waiting impatiently for Ravess to get up. His face and shoulder were killing him from his tousle the day before and were only serving as a reminder that he was back to square one in finding his friends.

Radarr looked up at him from his curled position next to the fire. He growled low in agreement.

A moment after Radarr's growl, a moan came from Ravess.

Aerrow and Radarr exchanged glances while Ravess rolled over and sat up with difficulty. Her hands and legs were still bound.

"Glad you finally decided to wake up" Aerrow said unkindly

Ravess said nothing as she rubbed the back of her head awkwardly

"I have a few questions for you, and I expect full answers!"

Ravess stared at him and a callous smile appeared.

"How is your face?" she said in mock concern "I didn't hurt you did I?"

Aerrow ignored her. He took up pacing back and forth if front of her

"Where is my squadron?" he asked, looking down at her

She looked up with defiant eyes

"...Dead" she finally answered

Aerrow froze. His heart had gone still

"You're lying" he countered harshly, refusing to believe her

Ravess smirked "whatever"

"I am going to ask you again Ravess, _where is my squadron?!_"

Again, Ravess took her time answering "You said I needed to answer you. You never said I had to be truthful"

Aerrow clenched his fists in frustration. He knew Ravess was trying to get under his skin on purpose.

She continued, "Your squadron is right where you left them. Whether they are alive or not is another story. Although, based on the condition we left them in, it isn't likely they are the former"

Aerrow pondered on that for a moment. Master Cyclonis had said they were 'right where he left them' before he left the Condor. What did that even mean?

Deciding on a new tack, he asked "How long have you been pretending to be Starling for?"

"A while" she answered vaguely

"Was it when you fixed my shoulder?" He asked, taking a seat opposite her. He wouldn't let it show, but his face was giving him trouble. It was hard to stay focused when his head was pounding so much.

"No..." She answered in a bored voice.

"Let me rephrase what I said earlier," Aerrow said, deadly calm "I have a few questions for you, and I expect full answers, or I will kill you."

At that, Ravess erupted into a fit of laughter. "Oh, I'm sorry, great Sky Knight. It's just, the thought of you killing me?... you're a child for heaven's sake! You don't have the guts."

A fit of rage overwhelmed Aerrow. He was sick of this. He should have known Ravess wouldn't cooperate. He jumped up, grabbed one of his blades and swung it at Ravess's throat.

Ravess stopped laughing immediately as she saw Aerrow draw his weapons. She had no intention of being skewered.

The knife edge was coming fast. She could see the wild rage clouding Aerrow's normally bright green eyes. She shut her own at the last second, but felt no pain.

Opening them, she looked up at Aerrow whose chest was heaving, the blade held millimetres from her throat.

A grin slowly formed on her face once again when Aerrow failed to kill her.

"You are weak" she stated "you wouldn't kill me, you_ couldn't_ kill me!"

She was right. He couldn't do it; he wasn't that sort of person. Something inside Aerrow cracked. He couldn't do anything. He lost his squad, he couldn't find them. They could be dead. He couldn't even get a straight answer out of Ravess. 'Right where you left them' she had said.

Aerrow pulled the blade away, not looking at Ravess. He turned around and rubbed at his face, wiping away any trace of moisture that had gathered in his eyes. He winced when his hand came in contact with his cheek, but pushed the pain away.

No. He wasn't going to give up. His team was counting on him. He strode towards his skimmer without a backward glance. Mounting it, he fired up the engine. Radarr scampered over and jumped into his side seat.

"Where are you going?!" came Ravess' slightly panicked voice "You can't leave me here!"

Aerrow looked at her, tied up near the fire. Guilt stabbed at him, but he thought about what the Talons and Cyclonians had put him and his family through, and said evenly "Yeah, I can"

He gave her a cheeky grin, all traces of doubt gone. His grin turned into a grimace straight away, but he roared off before she could see. He had a new plan in mind.

* * *

Miles and miles away, a boy with blond hair stretched out his legs to the farthest extent possible. He didn't bother opening his eyes; he wouldn't be able to see anything anyway.

He shivered. How long had it been since he had last seen daylight? He guessed maybe two weeks, but wasn't certain.

Water softly splashed down from above, at a steady pace, forever dripping. Hypnotising. He sighed and rested his head back against the cold rock behind him, the dampness of it soaking through his dirty hair, sending another shiver down his spine.

What he wouldn't give for some food. As that thought crossed his mind, his stomach made a loud gurgling noise.

"Finn..." A raspy voice groaned from somewhere to his right.

"Look Piper, I can't control the sounds my stomach makes!" He snappily replied. That was the longest sentence he had said in a long while. Everyone was in a bad mood.

Mostly they sat in silence, occasionally speaking a word or two, reassuring themselves they were still alive. Help had to come soon.

He could hardly remember how he even got there. One minute he was on patrol, scouting an uncharted terra, the next he was falling over the front of his handle bars after being hit from behind. He'd awoken to find himself in the dark. He wasn't certain, but as far as he could tell, he was in a cave of some sort.

Whoever stuffed them into these cages that didn't allow them to stand or lay down hadn't counted on them having access to the essential key of life which enables most things to live. Water.

To be honest, the only reason they were all still alive was because of the moisture constantly layering the top of the cave.

He rolled forward onto his knees and crawled two feet forwards to grip the thick bars enclosing him in his small personal area. He tilted his head back and opened his mouth wide, catching a few drops of water in his mouth.

He sat down again, lack of food and movement left them all lethargic and weak.

At first, they tried to keep up conversation, spit-balling ideas on escape, pondering who could have done it. It didn't take them long to assume it was the Cyclonians. Who else could it be? After the next few days, they had eventually gone quiet, only talking when they felt they needed to check on each other.

Once he had woken up, he had discovered he wasn't the only one locked in this hell. They sounded off and realised Aerrow was the only one missing. Stork was probably in the worst condition. They couldn't see him but he spoke the least, well- that wasn't completely true- he probably spoke the most, but only to himself, in a low murmur that no one could understand. They had tried to communicate with him numerous times, but it was hard to get him out of his thoughts. They eventually left him alone, hoping he could find his own inner peace until they could find a way out of this mess.

He wished he could be someplace else. Back on the Condor. Playing his guitar, eating, reading magazines. He had never missed doing chores on the ship so much! He would give anything to get out of here! Out of the darkness that was slowly consuming him.

He hoped Aerrow was okay. He was their leader; surely he wouldn't give up on them?

Water softly splashed down from above, at a steady pace, forever dripping. Hypnotising. He sighed and rested his head back against the cold rock behind him, the dampness of it soaking through his already wet hair. He shivered and tried to think of happier days to pass the time.

He didn't know when; time had started to blur together into one big mass, but out of know where, there was a blinding light. Hope filled him to the very core. He heard voices! Maybe it was Aerrow. There were two. A male and a female, he was certain.

Through the light, which was obviously the cave entrance, came the silhouette of two figures. The larger figure gave the smaller one in front a shove. The smaller figure stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

Finn's eyes were streaming at the sudden light, and as he heard the distinctive voice of Snipe yelling "Get up scum!" to the smaller figure, his hopes were dashed.

"Who broke your hand Snipe?" the smaller figure asked mockingly

Wait a minute, he knew that voice

"You better watch it Starling" Snipe threatened as he grabbed her by the upper arm and forcefully threw her into another too-small cell just for her.

Finn's hope was restored slightly as Starling yelled at Snipe's retreating back "It won't take long for Aerrow to realise Ravess isn't really me Snipe! He's not an idiot like you!"

Snipe called back over his shoulder "Enjoy a nice slow death of starvation Darling!"

"_Star_ling!" Starling muttered to herself as they were once again enclosed in the suffocating darkness.

* * *

Aerrow sped low over the canopy of the trees, looking for a place to hide. This normally wasn't his style, but he was way outnumbered. Spotting an entrance, he dived quickly down, folding in the wings to his skimmer, in order to fit.

It was a tight squeeze, but they managed to get through the branches relatively unharmed. Only a few scratches adorned their bodies as they pulled up to land.

With no time to lose, Aerrow switched the engine off, and rolled his skimmer towards the coverage of plants. They didn't need any extra noise drawing attention to them at the moment.

Just then an ear splitting screech filled the air, causing Aerrow to jump, then cringe, realising what it was. He turned in time to see a white-blue fur ball flying towards his head. There was no avoiding it. Radarr crashed into him, latching onto his face, little claws digging in as he tried to escape the spider that had dropped to the ground from the branches they had disturbed.

Aerrow's pain filled yell was muffled by Radarr's stomach. Dislodging the furry critter, Aerrow grabbed him by the arm and ran into the underbrush just as ten Talons entered through the same spot they had just moments ago.

They had been on the run for an entire day now. It had been two days since he left Ravess at the camp fire and had gotten about ¾ of the way to his new destination when the Talons caught up.

He had neither the energy or the bother to fight off Talons at the time and opted for losing them instead. It had taken longer than expected. An entire day longer.

He finally came across a forest area on a Terra he didn't know and decided he would drop them.

As he crouched down amongst ferns, Ravess and Master Cyclonis's words floated into his head. They said his squad was 'right where he left them'. The only place he could think of was that uncharted area they were exploring over three weeks ago. When this whole mess began.

If this had been a wild goose chase, he was going to be pretty mad. However, he desperately wanted to find the team and figured he would be more relieved than angry once he got them back.

* * *

**Finished that chapter. I hope its ok. I've suddenly become more concerned of what people think now that I'm getting reviews. I don't want to disappoint :D tune in for the next chapter. It shouldn't take too long to write. I hope. cya**

**McMario :P**


	5. Chapter 5

**hi ... :) im sorry i took so long to update. i had a lot of school work. but also i guess i was a bit lazy. i could have done some typing but i didnt. i have no good excuse. ill try not to let it happen again :D:D:D:D:D:D:D ON WITH THE STORY!! :D four eyes**

* * *

"...So I asked him to tell me what had happened and he said that you guys had gone missing without a trace. He spent an entire week searching when he got a message from Ravess saying that if he wanted you guys back, he had to fight her. He didn't tell me the location; I was just going to follow him there the next day. Before it was even midnight, he was asleep with Radarr. I guess he was pretty beat up.

'I was about to drop off myself when I heard some noises in the bush, so I went to check it out. It was Ravess, Snipe and a bunch of Talons. I called out to Aerrow, but I mean, he must have been exhausted because he didn't even stir. So they got the drop on me and brought me here." Starling finished to a wide eyed audience.

They were all sitting in darkness, no one speaking a word other than Starling.

There was a pause of silence, just for a moment as everyone absorbed this shocking news, then an outburst of sound.

"Is Aerrow ok?"

"Do you think he will figure out Ravess is you?"

"How long do you think it will take him to get here?"

Every one gushed at once. Starling held up her hands, in a 'slow down' gesture that couldn't be seen due to the lack of light.

"Ok everyone, calm down. All I know is that Aerrow was pretty hurt the last I saw him. I'd just re-located his shoulder after it had been hanging lose for who knows how long. He was bruised, tyred and running a fever. As for him knowing about Ravess, I'm pretty confident he will figure it out before it is too late; he is good with that sort of thing. I mean, it didn't take him long to discover Dark Ace and the rest of them, or so he told me. I don't know how long it will take him to reach us. I don't even know where we are" she finished

Once again she was greeted by silence. As the hush continued, Starling started to wonder if she should have told the Squad about the injuries attained to their leader. She hadn't thought what it would do to their moral. She mentally slapped herself.

"So how long have you guys been here?" she asked the stillness

"Dunno." Was the reply she got from what sounded like Junko. His voice was hoarse and raspy.

"I'd say about" At that Piper stopped and cleared her throat. "I'd say about three weeks"

Starling was shocked "How on earth have you managed to stay alive? Let alone conscious?"

"Well, the condensation from the roof... water you know? And nutrients in the ground. Disgusting I know." She finished lamely.

It occurred to Starling how exhausted they sounded.

The silence stretched longer than ever until Starling said "Don't worry guys, Aerrow will find us."

No one bothered to answer.

"...So where are we anyhow?"

"Some uncharted Terra" Finn answered

"Right" Starling replied. She was having a hard time getting everyone to talk to her. _I guess they probably aren't in the mood._ She shifted in her cramped position and something crackled in her side pocket. She suddenly remembered the food she went to get Aerrow on the night she was captured.

"Hey guys? You feel like some food? It's not much, but at least it's something" she rummaged through her pockets and pulled out some packets of biscuits.

"Don't eat too quickly, just have a little. You've been without proper food for too long and your stomaches won't be used to having to work. If you eat quickly, you will throw up" she warned.

She then proceeded in letting the team sound off so she had an idea of where they were sitting. She threw the packets carefully and precisely, after all, she _was_ a sky night.

"Are you sure these are ok to eat? How long have you had them?" Stork asked nervously.

The others exclaimed delightedly at the sound of his voice. He hadn't said an understandable sentence in so long.

Who knew what a bit of food would do to lift their spirits. Starling thought happily as the team now seemed content on eating.

"Yeah Starling. How long have you had this stuff? You've been holding out on us!" Finn joked as he took another bite.

"Not too fast guys, remember what I said." Starling warned again. "I got them when I went to get food for Aerrow..." she trailed off at the sudden silence. _Dammit_. She really kept putting her foot in her mouth lately.

"This food was meant for Aerrow?" Junko asked softly

"Yeah." She answered equally as soft "but he will be ok, just wait and see, besides, I'm sure you guys were a lot more hungry than Aerrow was. He could have eaten the very next day." She surmised.

The group returned to silence as they continued their wait.

* * *

Aerrow crouched low behind a tree, Radarr clutched closely to him. He held his breath, trying to keep as quiet as possible and was suddenly cast in the shadow of two Talons standing behind him.

"Where do you think he went?" asked one Talon to the other

"I dunno, but he definitely disappeared over that area of trees, you can see where he broke the branches on the way down." The second answered

"What's with this kid anyhow? He's been running for an entire day. From what I've heard, he is supposed to be pretty great. I mean, I heard he even defeated the Dark Ace once in a fight. Why is he running away now? The rumours can't be true." The first concluded

"Whatever the rumours say, we need to find him. You're right, he's been running for a day, he must be growing weary. But after all the trouble he's put us through, I wouldn't want to be found." The second said with menace. Clearly the chase wasn't doing that Talon any good.

Together, the Talons moved away from Aerrow who breathed a sigh of relief. He definitely hadn't counted on these guys giving him trouble. He glanced down at Radarr who was still huddled next to him.

"Stay low, Radarr" Aerrow breathed as he got into a crawling position and edged his way forward, into the bush his skimmer was hidden in. Radarr twitched his nose in response and crept forward with him.

The Talons voices were fading into the distance as they searched other areas of the woods. Aerrow reached his skimmer and poked his head up to look over the bushes. There were no talons in sight. All he saw were trees closely grouped together. A sudden thought struck him like a tonne of bricks and he sat down, and leaned against the side of his skimmer in sudden despair. _Too many trees_ he thought.

Radarr started to tug at his sleeve annoyingly, making grunting noises, but Aerrow was too busy thinking of his latest mistake.

How was he ever going to take off if there were too many trees?! This tiredness was starting to make him do incredibly dense things. Now he had to push his skimmer to a clearing of some sort big enough for its wings to open up. _Stupid stupid stupid_! He angrily berated himself.

Before he even had the chance to decide what direction he was going to head, he noticed three pairs of feet standing in front of him. His breath caught in his throat. He then noticed Radarr had stopped tugging at his arm. He glanced franticly around but couldn't see him anywhere.

"Well, well, well, what have we got here?" the middle Talon said looking down at Aerrow

"Looking for this?" the Talon to his right sneered as he held Radarr by the arm and dangled him in front of Aerrow's face.

Radarr growled and swung up, bighting the Talon on the wrist. The Talon screamed in pain and threw Radarr to the ground. Aerrow smirked, despite the situation.

"You think you're funny?" a freaky Talon on the left now spoke, with a soft yet deadly tone. "we'll see how funny you are later..." he left the threat hanging as he bent down and grabbed Aerrow by the lapels and brought his face close to Aerrow. Their noses were nearly touching. "We've been looking for you for a long time kid." He whispered. Aerrow squirmed in his grip, but the Talon was pretty strong, and Aerrow was just so exhausted.

It occurred to him suddenly, what he must look like. The last time he ate was yesterday lunch, he was positive he had half his face bruised; courtesy of Ravess using Starling's nun chuck, he was pale, shaky, dirty and most likely had several scratches running the lengths of his arms when he landed through the trees. A pretty pathetic site he assumed of himself.

The Talon dumped him on the ground, grabbed his upper arm and dragged him back the way he had just come. The other two Talons wrestled a screeching Radarr into a sack.

20 minutes later found an annoyed Aerrow and Radarr weapon less, and bound to a tree with several lengths of rope.

It was nearing dark and the Talons had gathered into a circle around a camp fire. Aerrow shivered. He was just out of reach of the warmth. He looked down at Radarr tied next to him.

"Radarr, do you think you can chew threw these ropes or something?" He asked in a low voice.

Radarr blinked up at him and then bent his head down low enough to reach the bindings. Upon finding that he only just reached, he looked up at Aerrow in delight.

"Good work Radarr!" Aerrow said happily. Finally something was going right.

"Hey! Be quiet over there!" a Talon yelled at him from across the fire.

Aerrow rolled his eyes and got ready for a long night. Radarr bent his head low and began to gnaw at the thick ropes.

The smell of food awoke Aerrow from his doze and his stomach growled fiercely. He was pretty hungry. It was getting dark now. He glanced down at Radarr to see how far he'd progressed with the ropes and did a double take to find out he wasn't there. Without thinking, Aerrow shouted "Radarr?!"

The freaky Talon looked up from the fire, stood, stretched and walked over to Aerrow to see what the fuss was about.

"Didn't we tell you to be quiet?" he asked crouching down in front of Aerrow.

Aerrow stared straight ahead. He didn't want to draw attention to the fact that Radarr was missing. He realised now that Radarr was probably going to come back and free him. He _probably went to get the skimmer _thought Aerrow desperately. _Surely he wouldn't leave me?_

The freaky Talon grabbed his face and forcibly turned his head to the side so the bruised part was facing the light.

"Looks like you got a pretty sore face, kid" the Talon said calmly. He curled his hand into a fist and punched Aerrow in the cheek.

Aerrow screamed as the fist connected with the cracked bone.

"How did you get it anyway?" the Talon sneered. Two more Talons had come over to see what the freaky Talon was up to.

Aerrow didn't answer him. He was having a hard time concentrating. _Where are you Radarr?_

For a moment it was quiet, then, the Talon opened his mouth, about to say something when Aerrow's stomach growled.

The three Talons grinned.

One of the two that had come over held his plate of food tauntingly in front of Aerrow.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"No." Aerrow replied, but was betrayed again by his stomach as it made another growling sound.

"It's ok, it's ok" said the freaky Talon, "we can share!" and with that, he grabbed the plate from the Talon and dumped it onto Aerrow's head.

"Enjoy!"

Slimy, gooey, whatever they were eating slid through Aerrow's hair and down his face. The three Talons erupted into fits of laughter.

Aerrow's face burned with humiliation. If only his arms weren't tied up.

As the laughter died down, Aerrow shook some of the stuff they called 'food' off of his face. The action made him slightly dizzy but he thought he hid it pretty well.

The three Talons turned to leave when suddenly the Talon with the plate said

"Hey, where is that little furry thing he had with him?"

They all looked back at the empty space next to Aerrow and saw the chewed through ropes lying limply on the ground. They then turned to Aerrow who looked back defiantly.

The three approached him with anger in their eyes.

Aerrow did his best to not shrink away from the boot that came flying at his stomach as the angry voices started up, demanding to know where the rat thing went. All he was capable of thinking of was: _Hurry up Radarr_

**Author's note: i wasnt sure what type of food Starling would have gotten Aerrow so i made it biscuits :) i dunno lol.**

**also, i have exams next week and the week after, but dont worry, because... um i just looked at the diary thing i have and it says i still have two more weeks of school after exams which sux :( and i have to go on a 4 day art camp in the middle of nowhere, so i wont be getting any writing done then. but i will afterwards cos its HOLIDAYS! YAYAH**

**sorry again about me taking over a month to update. i think thats how long its been. uncool uncool. sorry :(**


	6. Chapter 6

**Heya, sorry, I thought I would be a lot faster with my update because it was the holidays but my teachers disagreed and gave me homework! This is the first time I have had so much work to do when I am supposed to be relaxing! And I have still only done half! Noo! There will be a mad rush in the last few days of holidays with me trying to desperately finish a 2500 word essay for ancient history. It's about ninjas tho so its kinda interesting : D I also have a new job which ends quite late. The good news is that it's at a PIZZA Shop! My favourite kind! and even better, I get free pizza. Did I mention its one of my favourite foods? Ill be fat before I know it. Ah well. I think I have delayed long enough. here you go, the next chapter gasp**

* * *

As the boot came into contact with Aerrow's side, he jerked away, surprised at the slight slack in the ropes binding him. There was no time to think as he was kicked again in the same spot. He groaned and looked up at the three surrounding him.

Freaky Talon knelt down and grabbed him by the chin and forced Aerrow to look into his eyes.

"What are you planning kid?"

He got up and swung his foot back for another kick.

Before Aerrow could say a word, Radarr suddenly appeared, flying out from behind him and attacked the Freaky Talon with all his might.

The Freaky Talon fell back and landed on the leafy grass with a dull thud. He rolled on the ground, wrestling with Radarr as the other two Talons stood unsure of what to do.

Aerrow felt a wave of relief sweep through him as he saw Radarr attack. He knew he would never leave, even if the situation looked hopeless. He scolded himself for even doubting Radarr for a second.

By now, the rest of the Talon squad had walked over to see what the fuss was about. While Radarr was distracting everyone, Aerrow tugged experimentally on the ropes. His eyes widened as some of them fell free.

A surge of hope left him tugging on the ropes harder and harder. He realised now that Radarr had never left, he had been right behind Aerrow, chewing at the bindings.

He could feel the ropes cutting into his skin as he pulled and heaved, but he didn't care as he could also feel them start to stretch in weakness.

Some of the Talons seemed to bore of the fight between Radarr and their fellow team mate, and looked back to Aerrow only to discover he had vanished, ropes and all.

Radarr looked over and quickly made his retreat into the bushes. All he had to do now was find Aerrow and escape together. Raddar's sensitive ears picked up sound from a little while away. He could sense that whoever it was, wasn't moving very fast. Aerrow. Radarr turned his head back to the raised voices and arguing of the Talons who were trying to organise a sudden search.

Radarr scampered off to get Aerrow.

* * *

Aerrow all but crawled away from the sound of fighting. He shivered as he got further from the fire. One hand clutched at his stomach as he dragged his cold, bruised body into the shrubbery, the other tightly grasping the stretched ropes. Glancing back towards the fight, he noticed a change in the sounds. No longer was it cheering and laughing Talons, now it was confused and angry Talons. _They just realised I'm gone_ thought Aerrow, so he urged his body to move faster.

Aerrow staggered to his feet, but kept low as he snuck away from the camp, all the while keeping an eye out for Radarr.

Coincidentally, Radarr chose that moment to appear in front of Aerrow.

"Jeeze!" Aerrow gasped out of fright from Radarr's sudden materialization. His quick intake of breath aggravated his ribs which Aerrow guessed were at least bruised from the pounding he had just received. His ribs twinged again, and Aerrow erupted into a fit of coughing.

He squeezed his eyes shut and nearly sank to the ground attempting to gain control.

"Quiet!," a Talon roared from back at the camp fire "can you hear that?"

The arguing talons fell silent and listened for Aerrow.

Aerrow held his breath, eyes starting to water from the pent up energy raging inside his chest. He choked, not able to hold it in any longer. His chest constricted, so he hurriedly clapped his hand over his mouth, desperately trying to stifle the noise that was about to give them away. Radarr saw that Aerrow was having trouble and quickly climbed onto his back and also wrapped his little paws over Aerrow's mouth.

"It came from over there... sounded like coughing. COME ON! If we lose him now we're as good as dead!"

The Talons started crashing through the forest, heading for Aerrow and Radarr.

With no time to lose, Aerrow let go of his mouth and breathed slow and calm. It seemed like eternity before he finally regained control over his battered body. He then took off in a fast amble in the direction he thought his skimmer was in.

Radarr kept a look out from his position on Aerrow's shoulder.

As the pair walked faster into the darkness, Aerrow had a sudden feeling of vertigo as the ground disappeared from under his front foot. He cart wheeled his arms like crazy, frantically trying to gain balance. His entire body protested at the movement, but it was well worth it when he was able to take a few quick steps backwards.

Aerrow felt Radarr's claws dig into his shoulder from fright. Sinking on to all fours, Aerrow crawled forward, extending his arms carefully in search of the edge. Upon finding it, he looked down carefully. He needed to squint in the moonlight to see the bottom. It turned out the cliff wasn't very high, but high enough to do some damage. Aerrow sighed in relief, his heart pumping faster at the near miss.

Backing away from the ledge again, Aerrow nodded solemnly at Radarr as they both came to the same conclusion.

Aerrow grabbed the rope he had been carrying and gave one end to Radarr and held the end for himself. They stretched it between them; close to the cliff edge around shin height.

After receiving a brisk nod from Aerrow, Radarr let loose a screaming screech that raised the hairs on the back of Aerrow's neck.

"What was that?!" a Talon asked form nearby. They couldn't see a thing.

Back at the cliff edge, Aerrow smiled softly, still not able to all out grin from his injured state, and said in a stage whisper, loud enough for the Talons to hear, "Radarr! Quiet! Look, there is my skimmer, let's get out of here!"

"Quick! He's making a run for it!" a Talon cried and several of them ran madly in Aerrow and Radarr's direction.

"Brace yourself" Aerrow mouthed to Radarr who nodded in anticipation.

Aerrow frowned in concentration, lifted a hand quickly to wipe away some of the food sliding down his forehead, and returned it to the rope.

The footsteps rumbled closer, and Aerrow leaned back on the ropes, as did Radarr. There was a sudden tug on the rope as the Talons connected with it. They tripped, stumbled, and fell over the edge. Each cried out in shock as they fell into the darkness below.

Radarr and Aerrow didn't even look to see the Talons sprawled out at the bottom. They got up, and continued walking. After a couple of minutes, Aerrow looked to Radarr helplessly.

"Do you remember where the Skimmer is?" he asked hopefully

He knew they were going in the right direction, but maybe the Talons moved it.

"I could have sworn it was-"His words cut off as he stubbed his toe on something hard.

Screaming on the inside at his run of bad luck, Aerrow simply scrunched up his face in pain, and tried to stay calm. Radarr glanced sympathetically at him before turning his attention to the lump in front of them.

"Stupid dark forset, I hate camping, dumb Talons!" Aerrow mumbled while he took a closer look at what was in his way.

Radarr jumped up in victory and Aerrow became suddenly happy that he was in pain, for he had stubbed his toe on the Skimmer.

_Finally, something has gone right for a change_! He thought.

He looked around, noticing how hard it was going to be for him to take off or manoeuvre his way through the trees. Anything was better than staying with the Talons.

He eased his way into the seat feeling the familiar cushioning beneath him. He flicked on the headlights, started up the engine and began to weave in and out through the trees. He just needed to gather enough speed to take off, and then he could go through the canopy of trees, just like when he landed.

He cringed at the sound the loud engine made, but concentrated on driving instead. The sooner he took off the better. Gathering more speed, he looked up for an opening. He still didn't see one and it was getting increasingly hard to steer. He swerved suddenly to avoid a tree, producing a screech from Radarr.

Aerrow ignored Radarr for the time being, as out of the darkness popped another Talon. The Talon had nothing on Aerrow, and dived out of the way of the speeding Skimmer. Radarr screeched again and pointed to the left where the trees thinned out a bit. Aerrow's heart skipped a beat at the prospect of finding a clearing and he almost cheered in joy when they broke through.

"Wings Radarr!" he shouted.

The brilliant blue and white wings unfurled and Aerrow turned his face away as they burst out of the confining blanket of the tree tops. They were away, the cool air rushing in their faces, the moonlight creating a glimmering reflection on the thin layer of sweat adorning Aerrow's face.

Relief beset him and they sat, flying in silence, finally on the road to rescuing his much needed Squadron.

* * *

Starling sat in silence. She could hear Finn's teeth chattering in the dark.

"Finn?" She asked softly

There was no answer

"_Finn_?" she asked more insistently.

Drip... Drip... Drip...

She heard a shuffling sound as Finn sat up

"Yeah?"

"Are you alright?" She had learnt that Finn was pretty much directly underneath a constant drip of water that he couldn't avoid. Everyone had water within their reach, but Finn was wet 24/7. Hypothermia was becoming a concern for Finn the longer they stayed in the cave. Of course, Finn didn't know this, and Starling kept it to herself, unwilling to fuel the younger team member's talent of complaining.

"N-no. I am not alright! Wh-where is Aerrow any h-how?" Finn stuttered a little.

Starling shivered slightly herself. Choosing to ignore the question she asked "Finn, can you touch your thumb and your little finger?"

"What, is this s-some kind of t-test?" Finn asked jokingly

"Just do it"

"Okay just rela-ax" Finn proceeded to touch fingers together

Drip... Drip... Drip...

"Well?" Piper prompted from her position. Piper wasn't stupid, she knew what Starling was getting at and was becoming worried at Finn's silence.

"Yeah, they touch. B-but only barely, w-what's with the third d-degree?" He asked suspiciously

"Finn! You're going to be the first to die! Ooh, I knew it! Stay away from me! I can hear it in your voice. The end is near. Whatever it is, don't pass it on to me! I don't deserve this. I can't believe we are going to be forced to sit around and listen to you gasp your last dying breath!" Stork's hysterical rant was met with utter silence, aside from the ever present dripping water.

Drip... Drip... Drip...

Eventually Finn asked desperately, "Wh-what? What is w-wrong with you S-Stork?"

Before Stork could reply Finn's buddy Junko jumped in.

"Don't worry about Stork, Finn. We're gonna be OK. I bet Aerrow is coming for us right now"

Starling sighed quietly to herself. It had been a few more days since she arrived. Her worry for Aerrow was growing, and the resolve of the Squadron was dwindling. They had long since run out of food. Starling guessed they had a few more days at the most before their health would start to turn for the worst. As much as she hated to admit it, at the rate they were going, Finn _would _be the first to go, not because he was weak, but because he was the unlucky one to be placed in the path of the frigid water. Making up her mind, she took off her jumper and tossed it over to Finn.

Finn, unaware in the dark, copped the warm material in the face.

"Wrap it around your head and neck Finn." She ordered in a voice that brooked no argument.

"D-don't know why you hav-ve to b-be so bossy ab-bout it" he mumbled, obeying only because he was too exhausted to argue back.

They group fell into silence once again.

* * *

**Tell me what you think xxx mcmario xxx **

**um just fyi, the whole thumb and finger touching is a test to see if your muscles are working alright. At the beginning of second stage hypothermia, you can't touch thumb and little finger, and most heat escapes from your head and neck, but you probably already knew all of that! cya**


	7. Chapter 7

Hello, first, I'm sorry that this has taken a while, but at least I wrote another chapter. Never fear, I don't wanna not finish the story. I kinda like it haha. Also, sorry about my spelling mistakes the 'tired' 'tyred' always gets me. I would fix it but I don't know how *sad face* but I'll get it right from now on. Thanks to Aven for pointing it out hehe, and don't worry I wasn't mad, just embarrassed.

And lastly I can't remember if I did a disclaimer for my other chapters but I hereby say that I don't own the Storm Hawks for this chapter and past chapters and any other chapter to come.

So here it is...

* * *

Craig's peaceful slumber was interrupted as a sharp kick to the legs jerked him awake.

"What the hell Mike?!" Craig grumbled lifting his hat that was tilting over his eyes, shielding his face from the warm sun.

"Sleeping on the job again eh Craig?" Mike growled down at him.

Craig hauled his lazy body up from the grass to face his annoying Talon partner.

"I don't see why we have to hang around here! They are probably already dead. Why don't we go in and kill them all and just _say_ they starved. Then we won't have to play 'guard' duty. It's been _weeks_! Surely they died long ago!"

Craig watched as Mike glared at him. Craig hadn't been partnered with Mike for long, but he had quickly come to learn that Mike had a short temper. Craig suspected Mike of being somewhat deranged.

"Because Craig," Mike said with forced patience, "Master Cyclonis wants them to suffer. Nothing is worst than starving to death... except suffocation maybe..." Mike backed Craig to the cave wall, a mad glint in his eye and smiled crookedly.

"...Struggling to breath. Your body begging for air. Its more than enough to break a man" He thoughtfully brought a hand up and rubbed at his neck.

"Ever felt what it's like to be suffocated Craig?" he asked, bringing his hand down to grip Craig's shirt tightly in his fist, the smile turning predatory.

"N-no" Craig whispered

"Then pray you don't ever find out" Mike felt Craig tremble slightly underneath him.

Craig's eyes bored into Mike's, unsure of what to do.

Ten long seconds passed, and finally Mike let go of Craig's shirt, took a step back and looked normal again.

"You're right though." he continued, "They should be just about dead. It's cold enough in there, and hunger should be making them weak. Maybe we _should_ just finish them off." Mike jerked his thumb in the direction of the cave next to him

Craig agreed. He decided right then that he would always agree with Mike and his bipolar mood swings.

Together they pushed the boulder blocking the entrance away. Mike walked in, followed by a cowed Craig. There was slight movement in the darkness, but not much. The cramped cages not allowing the prisoners to shuffle out of the harsh light.

"Rise and shine!" Mike chimed in a sing song voice which bore no resemblance to a friendly greeting.

He picked up a stick lying on the ground and walked around the small room, banging it against the cage bars.

"So how are we doing this?" Craig muttered to Mike, "are we gonna release them or just shoot 'em in the cage?"

At those words, the room erupted into sudden movement.

"What?!" a deep voice shouted

"Uurgh. The time has come. We're doomed!" one weak voice uttered.

There was shuffling amongst the darkness until Mike shouted "QUIET!"

The room was still once again.

"Open that one" Mike indicated to the closest cage which happened to be Finn's.

Craig withdrew a set of keys from his back pocket as he approached, a look of anticipation lighting his features.

"Finn..." Starling whispered in terror.

Craig stooped over the cage door and dragged a limp looking Finn from the cage. He hauled him up by his arm and dragged him over to where Mike was waiting.

"Wait... Jus' hol' on a minute guuys" Finn's voice slurred as he tried to gain his feet as they buckled underneath him.

The entire team were protesting weakly, but quite frankly, none of them had enough energy to do anything.

Mike withdrew a blade from the depths of his uniform and caught Finn as he started to sag.

"Say goodbye to your friend" Mike grinned manically before raising the blade so it glinted in the light pouring in from the entrance.

Before the knife could so much as swing down, an angry voice boomed from behind.

"STOP!" it shouted.

There was a collective gasp in the room as a shape silhouetted by the sun walked none too steadily into the room.

There was no mistaking that voice. Dark Ace.

"What do you think you are doing?!" he asked Mike and Craig with a snarl, "You know what? Never mind. I don't want to know. New orders. The prisoners are to come with me"

Dark Ace threw a disgusted glance at the pitiful squadron.

"Are you sure?" Craig asked, his face crestfallen at the idea of not being able to watch the execution.

"Are you questioning my authority?" Dark Ace asked with menace, taking a threatening step forward only to stagger slightly.

"Sir," Mike interrupted, doubtfulness evident in his eyes, "Do you want us to accompany you?"

"No. Just unlock the cells and lead them outside." This was done in absolute silence. The Squadron exchanged confused looks as they were dragged out none too gently by Mike and Craig. They passed Dark Ace who was leaning against the entrance watching them.

Once everyone was out, Dark Ace approached the two Talons.

"Orders from Master Cyclonis: return the boulder to the entrance and stand guard for two more days. Then you may return to base." He paused after that, then, "if I ever catch you disobeying a direct order again, just so you can leave early, you will be severely punished."

The two Talons gulped and nodded. "Yessir"

Dark Ace turned away from them and approached the Squadron sitting in the grass.

"Get up!" he spat as he stood in front of them

They struggled to their feet.

"You are going to line up in single file. I will follow from behind. If you try anything, you will be killed" He said clearly. "Now follow my directions" and with that, they left stumbling and staggering towards the tree line.

* * *

Piper was so confused. She was sure they were going to die a minute ago, but now here they were, traipsing through the bush, hardly any energy, waiting to see what new plan was in store for them.

Her hopes were lifted however by the fact that there were five of them and only one Dark Ace. He also seemed to be exhausted. She knew that she didn't have the energy to take on Dark Ace, but if they all attacked at once, they may be able to take him down.

She assessed their positions. Dark Ace was behind her, Finn in front, then Junko who was standing close behind Finn, ready to catch him should he pass out, then Starling and Stork leading the way.

Starling glanced back for a second and Piper immediately guessed that she was thinking the same thing.

Finn was in no shape to do anything, he was barely conscious. They were moving at a snails pace. No one said a word for hours.

Piper was still desperately trying to figure out how to get out of this little mess when Dark Ace called for a halt.

They all stopped and turned to face him. Dark Ace reached behind him and a thrill of panic seized Piper. She didn't think, she only lunged at him, thinking he was about to pull out his sword and kill them all.

Apparently she wasn't the only one thinking this as Starling and Junko attacked as well. There was some shouting and yells and after a few seconds, the three of them had secured Dark Ace's arms and legs with their hands.

Piper was overjoyed. They may actually have a chance of survival after all. However, the little scuffle had taken pretty much everything out of her and she could feel herself fading.

"No, stop!" Dark Ace said, desperately trying to gain his feet.

"Weapon... need a weapon" Starling muttered to herself, glancing around hurriedly.

Finn and Stork had collapsed in a heap near a tree and could only watch as the next events unfolded.

Starling's eyes lit up as she lay her hands on a sturdy looking stick a few feet away. Without hesitation, she raised the stick above her head, ready to thrash Dark Ace to at least put him out of action long enough for them to escape.

Dark Ace's eyes widened in horror, "NO, no, listen, stop you don't know what you're doing"

"Starling wait" Piper said, "it's not a very good weapon, we don't wanna torture him, just knock him out... are you sure that will do the job?" she looked at the stick uncertainly

"Should we use a rock?" Junko suggested

Dark Ace shook his head furiously "Let me go, let me explain-"He broke off as Starling shrugged and began to swing the stick.

It was hurtling towards his head when suddenly a terrified screech ripped through the bush and the stick stopped short just centimetres from Dark Ace's face.

They all looked to the source of the noise, Dark Ace craning his head to see. Radarr was standing by Finn and Stork, mouth agape from the scream he had just let loose.

Dark Ace's face relaxed in seeing Radarr, and his head fell back to the grass in relief.

Radarr scampered over and stood on Dark Ace's chest.

"Just in time buddy" Dark Ace whispered.

Junko exchanged a startled look with Piper and Starling. They watched on as Radarr reached into Dark Ace's armoured vest and pulled out a crystal of some sort.

There was a flash of light and the form of Dark Ace began to shrink slightly, and change. Black hair to red, red eyes to green, Dark Ace to Aerrow! ... Well a bruised hardly recognisable Aerrow, but an Aerrow none the less.

"Hey guys" he said as they all stared down at him in shock.

"... uh, you can let me up now" he told them, uncomfortable at their attention. He jostled his arms for emphasis. They all let go, seemingly coming out of a daze.

Piper stared on, eventually coming to her senses.

"Aerrow! It's good to see you." She took in his appearance, noting the way he held his arm funny, how the side of his face was a mess of bruising, the scratches and scrapes covering him head to foot, the way his posture was stiff- a tell tale sign of sore ribs, and his general overall, ratty appearance.

"What _happened_ to you?!" she asked in a gasp.

"You look worse than when I first saw you" Starling added

"Thanks" he replied sarcastically "Look, I'll explain later, but right now, we've gotta find a place to hide, come on, I hid my skimmer over here..." he motioned with his good arm and everyone, after a bit of struggle, regained their feet.

Aerrow then took the lead and called back over his shoulder "Do you have any idea where they might have hidden your skimmers?"

"Actually, yeah, they are back at the cave" Stork told him with reluctance.

Aerrow froze in his place and seemed to sag a little. They had come all this way, only to have to go back again. His team watched Aerrow stand there with his back turned. He seemed to gather some unknown strength as he turned back to them.

"Well, that's ok. We'll go back in two days. That's when the Talons are leaving. We can do it guys, now that we are together, we will be unstoppable. They thought they could break us by separating us but they were wrong! We'll regroup, get our skimmers, get the Condor and get out of here to destroy Master Cyclonis once and for all!" his eyes darkened and a possessed look crossed over him. "She will come to regret the day she messed with a Storm Hawk and his squadron" he hissed almost to himself.

The others shifted uneasily and exchanged worried looks, but the faintly disturbing words became less effective as Aerrow collapsed in a heap, unable to support himself from exhaustion any longer.

"I guess it'll be ok if we rest here for the night" he murmured, his voice soft and normal once more. But a lingering doubt still remained in the minds of his squadron as they lay down to rest around him. Yet, they were all too tired to really think much of the matter, as soon sleep claimed them.

* * *

I ended this chapter a little darker than I would normally have done but that's the way it came out so I figured I would just role with it.

Thanks for reading if you still are because I know it has been AGES.

Hopefully I should have another chapter up in a much shorter time than last time

~mcmario


	8. Chapter 8

**I dont own the Storm Hawks.**

**Now that that is done, here is the next chapter. Sorry it took so long, but i am please to say that i have finished it now, so no one will have to wait for it ever again. **

Aerrow awoke to the warm sunshine glittering down upon him and his squad and even though he was dead sore and stiff, he felt a lot better than he had in a long time.

He had his squadron back

He sat up slowly and observed his still sleeping team. They were thin and pale but none the less alive, and for that he was grateful. He looked at Finn who had some kind of material wrapped around his shoulders and was snuggled up next to Junko. Aerrow smirked at how funny he looked but then noticed his face had a tinge of blush to it and that he was shivering.

Aerrow cursed in his head and crawled over to him. Placing a hand on his forehead, he found Finn to have a fever, just as he expected.

"He's probably sick. It was pretty cold in that cave" Starling's deadpan voice sounded from behind him.

Aerrow turned to look at her and noticed she looked pretty flushed herself.

"We need to get the Condor. Once we have it back we can rest and get better" He told her, noticing a haunted look in her eyes

"We don't even know where the Condor is." She said dejectedly

Aerrow shook his head and explained "Not at the moment but I bet they will come back here. I mean, they went to so much trouble in separating us. Then I got away so they will probably come back here looking for me. And tomorrow, when they find out the guards have left, they will come here looking for you. Either way, they are coming here and they should come in the Condor."

Starling nodded in understanding then looked around at the rest of the group who were beginning to stir.

At that moment, they both noticed Radarr was missing.

Aerrow got to his feet and grimaced as the world tilted to the side. They were really in need of proper food and rest. Not sleeping on the forest floor.

Aerrow walked slowly around the edge of the clearing, looking for signs of Radarr. He would call out but the others were still dozing and he didn't want to rob them of their last few minutes of sleep.

A rustling in the bushes sounded the return of Radarr. With him, he carried a sack which on closer inspection appeared to be Aerrow's old shirt. It was bulging with little bumps. Radarr hauled the shirt over to the group and dumped it on the ground. Out of it spilled a large assortment of fruit and nuts.

Aerrow fell to his knees beside Radarr and scooped him into a hug.

"Thanks Radarr" he said, eyes wide at the amount of food set before them

"Wake up guys! Breakfast!" Aerrow called to his team.

"...Wha'? Breakfast?" Finn looked over to see the pile of food and instantly sat up, diving for it.

"Not so fast Finn. " Starling admonished, but smiled anyway at the amount of food set before them.

Everyone gathered around the pile of food, completely awake now. They all dug in. Aerrow noticed in fascination the others eat in utter silence. They all looked so pale and thin. Suddenly feeling immense guilt crash down on him, he stopped his own eating. He was glad he had his team back, but felt ashamed he hadn't reached them sooner. By the looks of things, they wouldn't have lasted much longer, and with that, Aerrow set down the fruit he was holding, his appetite suddenly missing. No one even noticed.

15 minutes later there was nothing left but a few seeds from the fruit. Everyone seemed to have had their fill and they sat back contentedly, enjoying each other's company.

At long last Piper finally spoke up.

"So, what's the plan Aerrow?"

"Plan is, we rest for the day, get up early tomorrow and circle back to the cave to get your skimmers. By the afternoon, those two guards should be gone. Then we can work on getting the Condor back when Cyclonis comes to find out why the guards left early" Aerrow explained with confidence

There were a series of nods around the circle. It was good that they would have the day of rest, Aerrow thought, as they all still looked quite sick and malnourished. He knew he didn't look too good himself.

"How did you get the crystal? Aerrow?" Stork asked, studying the now run-out crystal with interest.

"Took if from Ravess. It still had a little power left, I thought it might come in handy" Aerrow shrugged.

They all nodded, except for Finn, who seemed to be falling back asleep

"So uh, where are your weapons Aerrow?" Junko asked casually but as soon as the words left his mouth Aerrow stiffened

His eyes grew wide as he glanced at Radarr who had the same expression. His twin blades! He had completely forgotten them, left at the camp with the Talons. He was furious at himself for leaving them.

Everyone saw his reaction and glanced away as, without another word, Aerrow hauled himself up and walked into the bush. Alone.

* * *

After storming off into the bush, Aerrow came across a shallow little stream. After testing the water and finding it pleasantly warm, he ripped off his clothes, leaving only his boxers and splashed in. He knew the others would leave him be for a while, and he was glad for it.

After floating around in the watery depths, cleaning himself of the grime and dirt that caked his body, he climbed out of the water, and onto a rock, aiming to dry off.

And only after the sun began to tingle on his skin, drying him of any moisture it could find, did he allow the onslaught of vicious thoughts swirling inside to beset him.

No matter how he thought about their situation, he couldn't get over all the things he had done wrong.

He had taken too long to find his friends. When he found them, they weren't actually the real deal and it took him too long to figure _that_ out too. _Then_, he allowed himself to be injured, prolonging the wait his friends had to endure. After those mistakes, he was tricked _again_ with the chroma crystal with Starling actually being Ravess. And that's not all. Finally discovering where his _real_ friends were being held (still took too long to figure out), he got captured, and hurt so badly he nearly got captured straight after he escaped. Not to mention the fact that Radarr was the only reason he got loose in the first place. Never the less, he got away only to discover that the good times keep on coming, because he lost his only possessions that he held dear- his weapons. In any case, he finally got to his squad and they were in pretty bad shape. And he had stumbled and lurched and taken wrong turns the entire journey there.

_Great leadership skill there Aerrow_ he thought with menace

* * *

Back at the camp, the others relished their new freedom. The boys went back to sleep, Radarr went to gather more food and Starling and Piper sat together, warming up in the sun.

"Wonder what's eating Aerrow?" Starling worried.

"Something to do with his twin blades?" Piper replied thinking of how he stormed off when Junko mentioned them.

"He's probably just stressed at our situation." Starling said. "In a few days, we'll all be back to normal and flying free in the Condor" She sighed. "but until then, all we can do is get some R and R in the sun, eating fruit and having a relaxing time" she finished

"Wish we could say the same for Aerrow..."

At that time, Aerrow appeared out of the bushes, looking clean and a bit better than before

"Hey Guys, there is a stream through the bushes a bit if you want to get cleaned up" he said, collapsing on the grass next to them

Piper looked at Aerrow closely. He was pale and drawn, but his eyes were clearer than they had been yesterday.

"That sounds good Aerrow." Starling yawned. "I'll just check on Finn then me and Piper will go have a wash" She dragged her tired body up and over to Finn. He was still feverish but was sleeping peacefully.

"Coming, Piper?" Starling called out as she finished checking Finn.

"In a minute" Piper replied. She wanted to talk to Aerrow. "Are you okay Aerrow?" she asked after a moment of silence.

Aerrow fiddled with a blade of grass, embarrassed. "Yeah, I'm okay. Sorry about storming off like that. I was just a little stressed is all. That and losing my weapons." He muttered, glaring off into the distance now. He said nothing of how guilty he felt at not having found them sooner.

"We can get some new ones." Piper tried to console him.

Aerrow took in her gaunt, thin face and the guilt tripled.

"You should go find Starling" was all he said.

Piper sighed then complied. There was no use talking to Aerrow at the moment. She could see something more was bothering him and decided it would be best to just leave it for now.

As she neared the bush edge, she looked back at Aerrow who was now staring off into the trees opposite and she couldn't help the feeling of worry that twisted in her gut.

She then turned away, off to find Starling.

* * *

By evening that day, everyone felt slightly better. They had all eaten multiple serves of food throughout the day that Aerrow and Radarr kept fetching.

Everyone had washed in the stream and they now lay cuddled up together looking up at the sky, chatting quietly. Even Finn was looking less sick and his fever seemed to be dying down.

"I wasn't sure I would ever get to see the sky again" Junko murmured softly.

There were several nods of agreement, and once again Aerrow felt the deep gnaw inside telling him that it was because of him that they were in this situation to begin with. He wordlessly rolled on his side and closed his eyes, hiding the grimace of pain that it caused in his ribs.

They had a big day tomorrow, and it was obvious that they were still not really in any condition to be running around, reclaiming the Condor. But it had to be done.

Just thinking about how close the situation could get caused a wave of nerves to crash over him; heart beating harder and his breaths coming in faster. It seemed as if the ground was rumbling in time with his thudding heart beat. He swore he could feel the deep vibrations in his bones.

However, a sense of déjà vu suddenly struck him when his squadron began to sit up and look around, startled.

He realised the rumbling was coming from the ground and all around. A deep engine could be heard and it suddenly struck him what it was. A look at Starling confirmed it.

He scrambled to his feet as fast as his injured body would allow; all the while yelling at the others to get up as well.

The noise was getting louder by the second.

They were early. They weren't meant to come until tomorrow.

He herded everyone into the trees for cover just as the Condor flew overhead, so low it blew dust and leaves all around. It was coming in for landing, and fast.

Once it had passed over head, in the direction of the caves, Aerrow began to gather up their meagre possessions.

The others stood dumbly looking up at the sky

"I guess you didn't fool them as well as you thought eh Aerrow?" Finn tried to joke as they all began walking as fast as they could the same way the Condor went.

"So much for a good night's sleep" Stork complained to himself when he stumbled over a twig in the waning sunlight.

**Next chapter up tomorrow.**

**Let me know if i have made mistakes. like grammmar or speling hahaha**


	9. Chapter 9

**I DONT OWN THE STORM HAWKS**

They walked quickly and in complete silence, picking their way through the darkening forest. Nerves radiated from everyone, especially Aerrow.

He walked slightly faster than everyone, pushing his skimmer with him, desperately trying to come up with a new plan. Because the enemy had arrived early, they had no choice but to attack now, before they had a chance to establish a surrounding. By tomorrow, it would be too hard to take them by surprise and the place would be swarming with Talons.

Aerrow could see the caves coming up ahead and he stopped everyone near a bunch of bushes, close enough to see the Condor and the caves but far enough away not to be seen.

Stork gasped as he saw the Condor.

"Oh! I thought I would never see you again!" he muttered to himself, keeping his voice low.

"Listen up everyone" Aerrow whispered as they huddled together. "Your skimmers should be behind the cave right?"

After receiving nods from everyone he looked out over the clearing. "who can see a bad guy?" he said, himself spotting the two guards talking to Dark Ace, their faces shadowed.

"There are three by the cave..." he said, eyeing the furious Dark Ace

"Two more by the Condor" Finn murmured

"There are probably more on the Condor" Piper said, looking determined.

"Is it possible there will be more where your skimmers are?" Aerrow asked

Junko nodded slowly, "Yeah, they might. Guess we won't know till we get there"

Aerrow took a deep breath, "Alright then. Our best bet is to take out as many as we can silently. Finn, Stork and Junko, you guys loop around to get your skimmers. If you see a Talon, deal with them as quietly as possible. Stick to the shadows, stay quiet and don't start up your skimmers until you hear battle sounds coming from the main area. If you do, obviously our cover has been blown and we will need as much help as we can get. Piper, Starling, Radarr and I will stay here and try and secure the area around the Condor. Once the outer area is clear, we will be able to storm the Condor together and escape.. that is, so long as the ones inside aren't alerted to our presence.

Everyone was nodding.

"What if we make too much noise when retrieving the skimmers?" Finn asked

"Then the four of us will cause a distraction and draw the attention of everyone here. It's vital that you get the skimmers, they are going to be our main weapon of defence" Aerrow answered

"What about weapons?" Stork whispered, terrified.

"Yours should be with your skimmers. Were just gonna have to make do." Aerrow said, again making eye contact with everyone, "We should be able to steal some Talon weapons once we dispose of them" he said, completely serious. "Is everyone clear on the plan?"

Apart from a shaking Stork, the rest of the team grimly nodded their understanding. When it came to these situations, they needed to be completely focused on the task ahead.

"One last thing," Aerrow said hesitantly, "No matter what happens I want you all to know how glad I am to have you back. Even if it was just to see you all one last time. And I just want to say I'm sorry it took so long" he lowered his head, suddenly afraid to meet their eyes.

At that, everyone smiled in understanding. That was clearly what had been eating at Aerrow.

"Aerrow, we don't blame you for what happened. Just know that. It's not your fault that this happened. It's theirs!" Piper whispered jerking her head towards the Talons.

Aerrow looked up. What Piper said made sense. He should be focusing all his anger on Dark Ace and Cyclonis, not wallowing in guilt. At everyone's nods, Aerrow felt the heaviness that had weighed on him lift slightly.

"Alright then!" he whispered, "let's get this done!"

And without another word, the team split in two to complete their role in retrieving the Condor.

* * *

Finn, Junko and Stork snuck around the cave, keeping their eyes out for the enemy, straining their ears for the slightest sounds.

"I sure hope this plan works" murmured Stork

Finn nodded wordlessly from ahead. Junko walked behind Stork, taking the group's six.

As the group rounded a shrub, Finn suddenly held up his hand for stillness. The group instantly froze. The tension was so high you could cut it with a blade.

Without taking his eyes off whatever he could see, Finn held up three fingers. Three Talons.

Stork gulped. How were they supposed to take on a Talon each in their condition, let alone silently?

He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Junko pointing behind him. Junko then moved up to Finn's position and whispered to him.

Stork took that to mean that he would be covering them from behind now while Junko and Finn took care of business, as it were.

He briefly saw Finn nod before he glanced around on the forest floor and hefted up a sizable log.

Junko looked back at Stork and held up a hand. Wait.

Stork nodded and watched the two stealthily sneak up on the three Talons.

The strength Junko possessed must be mighty, Stork reflected as he watched Junko grab two Talons from behind, his big hands covering their mouths as he slammed their heads together, knocking them out instantly, or worse.

At the same time, Finn jumped out of the darkness and clocked the last Talon over the face with the log. He went down as quietly as the other two.

"Check the bodies for weapons for the others, just in case they can't get some" Finn whispered

The group frisked the bodies for weapons and upon acquiring them, made their way to their untouched skimmers.

The three of them breathed sighs of relief which soon turned back into tension as they awaited a signal that the others needed their help.

Finn and Stork sat on their skimmers, ready to go. They checked their weapons as Junko stood watch from behind.

After the weapons check, they sat in utter silence, straining to hear any sound of battle coming from up ahead.

* * *

Aerrow watched the three walk into the darkness and turned to the others.

"We'll wait a few minutes to give them a chance to get to their skimmers, then we can attack"

The three nodded in understanding. They didn't want to go in without backup ready.

After waiting five minutes, Aerrow turned back to his group.

"Alright, Piper and Radarr, do you think you can handle the two Talons near the Condor? Me and Starling will draw Dark Ace and the others away from the cave in case there is more of a commotion"

The three nodded, and Aerrow and Starling left towards the group arguing near the cave entrance. As they drew nearer, they caught slips of conversation.

"...Imbeciles! How could you believe such a ridiculous order?" Dark Ace hissed at the two cowering Talon guards.

Mike, the dangerous Talon drew himself up to his full height and spoke calmly, "Dark Ace, with all due respect, the one who came to release the prisoners looked just like you. He was very commanding"

"Shut up! No excuses. When Master Cyclonis hears of this she'll—" Dark Ace suddenly halted his sentence just as Aerrow picked up a stick and snapped it in half.

_That should get their attention_ he thought as he exchanged silent nods with Starling who stood in the darkness of a tree, ready to attack those who came to investigate.

To their immense luck, Craig was sent into the bushes alone.

_This will be easier than I thought_ Aerrow thought, realising how much easier it would be to take out one Talon at a time between the two of them.

Craig was muttering to himself about wild animals when he was knocked unconscious by Starling.

After a few moments, Mike called after Craig and, receiving no response, followed him into the bush. This time, Dark Ace went as well.

Aerrow sighed, preparing himself for a fight.

He picked up a rock, crude but affective for the job at hand.

The two Cyclonians snuck around, searching for possible attackers.

Dark Ace was approaching Aerrow's hiding spot. Aerrow could feel his heart beat faster as adrenalin began to pump through his veins. He readied his rock, hefting it shoulder height. A few more seconds and Dark Ace would be passing him. He glanced over at Mike who was unknowingly walking towards Starling.

Aerrow knew never to assume any kind of outcome in a battle, but it was pretty hard not to get his hopes up.

In the end, Dark Ace was a lot more attentive to his surroundings than Craig had been. As Aerrow swung his rock towards Dark Ace, he spun and raised his arm to block, letting out a roar of fury at the same time.

This served to distract Mike for Starling, who knocked him unconscious after a bit of a struggle.

Unfortunately, Dark Ace's yell had alerted other Cyclonians to their trouble.

Aerrow's rock was knocked out of his hand by Dark Ace's block. He immediately snatched his hand back and lashed at him, attempting to punch Dark Ace in the head. He noted Dark Ace's surprised expression turn into rage as he realised who his attacker was.

Dark Ace's head snapped to the side on contact with Aerrow's fist, but was quick to retaliate; grabbing him around the throat and slamming him into the tree he had been hiding behind.

Dark Ace smirked as he made out Aerrow's appearance in the dark while Aerrow struggled.

"You're looking a little worse for wear, young Aerrow" he hissed.

He opened his mouth to say more but was suddenly cut off. His head fell forward onto Aerrow's shoulder followed by the rest of his body pitching forward, knocked unconscious by Starling.

Aerrow struggled to his feet, disentangling himself from Dark Ace's heavy limbs.

Starling held out her hand to help him up, seeing his wince from his aching ribs. She was holding Mike's weapon, which was a medium length blade. Aerrow nodded, and grabbed Dark Ace's red long blade, smirking as he did so.

"Hurry up, we've gotta go help Piper and Radarr" Starling said, and at the same time, Aerrow became aware of sounds of battle near the Condor.

Looking over he saw about half a dozen Talons spilling out of the entrance, overwhelming the two.

Just as they started off to help, the roaring sounds of Skimmers could be heard in the distance. Aerrow sighed briefly, help was on the way.

Together, he and Starling began running to help Piper and Radarr, who were trying their best, but were quickly failing against the superior numbers of the enemy.

Aerrow breathed deeply, preparing for the fight. He was 10 meters away and closing. Some of the Talon surrounding the other two broke away and ran to meet Aerrow and Starling.

Others were looking around in confusion wondering where the Skimmers were going to come from.

Aerrow was happy at their obvious confusion. This would only aid them in reclaiming the Condor. However, it was painfully obvious that his side were outnumbered and nowhere near at their usual fighting standard.

He could no longer contemplate their odds as he needed all his attention on the fight.

He sidestepped the first Talon who was raging towards him, and struck him on the back with Dark Ace's weapon on his way past.

Two more came out of nowhere, readying their weapons. Aerrow subconsciously gulped but was saved from having to fight both at once when Junko's Skimmer came flying out from the bushes. He affectively drove straight passed Aerrow, taking one of the Talons in the face with his fist.

The remaining Talon sneered at him and dove forward, tackling Aerrow to the ground. He punched Aerrow in his bruised cheek, causing Aerrow to grunt loudly. The Talon got another punch into Aerrow's ribs and that was almost his undoing. Aerrow somehow managed to manoeuvre Dark Ace's weapon between the two and jab it into the Talon's side.

The Talon screamed and blood spilled out onto Aerrows hand and down his arm. The Talon rolled away from him, clutching his side in an attempt to stem the flow of blood. Aerrow staggered to his feet and looked for the Talon, ready to finish him off, however that particular coward of a Talon had ran to the Condor entrance and made his way up, no doubt looking for medical attention.

The site was now a mass of pandemonium and noise. Aerrow couldn't keep track of his squad, try as he might. As far as he could tell Piper was holding her own with Radarr, currently fighting off two Talons at once. Starling was getting up from falling to the ground in her last tussle. Junko and Stork had taken off and were fighting above them against five more Talon's who had retrieved their own Skimmers. Where was Finn?

Aerrow looked around wildly, and found him, still on the ground riding towards Piper to help her out, just as a hidden Talon jammed his staff like weapon into his front wheel of his skimmer. Finn let out a surprised yell as his skimmer jolted to a stop, flinging him over the front handle bars.

Luckily, the sharpshooter had his fall broken by another Talon who was sneaking up on Starling.

Aerrow could no longer look as his attention was drawn to the Condor where yet more Talons were running, with their weapons raised.

He began to run forward where two Talons were approaching him from the side, but a scream from above had him looking up, his eyes widening in terror.

**I think there is one more chapter to go. let me know what you think :) Thanks!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Last chapter! Thanks everyone for reading!**

**I Do Not Own The Storm Hawks**

Junko was screaming at him "AERROW, LOOK OUT!"

Both a Skimmer and a Talon were falling from the sky, freshly taken out by Junko. Unfortunately, they were falling straight towards his current position.

Aerrow couldn't watch as the Talon scrambled for his parachute. He was too low to pull it anyway. It was gonna be messy, but that was the only thought Aerrow could spare, as he attempted to avoid the falling Skimmer.

He turned around and began sprinting away from the skimmer and as it landed, the fuel tank erupted, creating a small explosion, yet an explosion none the less.

Aerrow was thrown off balance, only just managing to keep his feet. That is until he was suddenly tackled again from the side. He looked up into Dark Ace's furious face, his ears ringing form the explosion.

"This is mine!" Dark Ace yelled, snatching his long blade from Aerrow's loose fist.

Blood dripped from the back of his air and down his chin. It dropped onto Aerrow's shirt, but he wasn't even paying attention to that. Just as he gathered his wits, he attempted to struggle out of the mess he was in. He was unable to, however, when the two Talons he was approaching before the explosion caught up to him and held him down by both arms.

"Well well, it looks like we finally have little Aerrow all trapped. Finally." Dark Ace shifted his position so he was straddling Aerrow's legs. He was completely unable to move.

"You have no idea what a pain you have been Aerrow." Dark Ace said, a manic gleam in his eyes.

Aerrow didn't want to admit it, but he was panicking. He couldn't see what the rest of his squadron were doing. He couldn't see anything but the three faces above him. How could he help his squad when he couldn't see who needed help? When he was powerless to even get up off the stinking _ground?_

"Tell me Aerrow, how is your shoulder? The last I remember, it was dislocated?" Dark Ace asked as if having a pleasant conversation with a friend.

The two Talons holding his arms laughed. Then they laughed harder when Aerrow began bucking and flailing with all his might, attempting to knock them off of him.

Dark Ace looked at him condescendingly "Did you really think you could beat me Aerrow?"

However, another yell from above prevented Aerrow from answering. All four of them looked up at another Skimmer crashing down. The three holding Aerrow let go, quick as a flash and dived out of the way.

Aerrow only had time to roll to the left, stagger to his feet and take five wobbly steps before the skimmer exploded right where he had been lying.

This time, he was thrown forward and into the ground, only just bringing his arms up in time to protect his face. He vaguely thought about how lucky they had been that none of these falling Skimmers had hit the Condor.

His thoughts were drawn away as two feet stepped in front of his face. He looked up into Dark Aces face. Dark Ace's lips were moving, but all Aerrow could hear was ringing. Dark Ace bent down and grabbed Aerrow's lapels in his fists, lifting Aerrow up, face to face.

Dark Ace was almost a foot taller than Aerrow, and so his feet dangled off the ground. Aerrow brought up his hands to Dark Ace's, trying to pry them off.

Then sound returned.

"...glad that Skimmer didn't get you. Now I can finish you myself!"

With that, he threw Aerrow to the ground.

Aerrow thudded against the grass, hit his head, and actually blacked out for a second. When he opened his eyes, there were bright spots dancing around his vision.

Dark Ace put a foot on his chest and held his long blade to Aerrow's throat.

It was then that Aerrow became aware of the lack of noise coming from every one.

He strained his neck to see the rest of his squadron, careful not to accidentally hit the blade that was hovering dangerously close to his skin.

He could see Finn, Starling, Piper and Radarr all kneeling on the ground, surrounded by Talons. Junko and Stork had somehow been defeated and were being hassled along to the group already kneeling.

"Put their Skimmers on the ship" Dark Ace instructed some Talons who were standing around with nothing to do. "The rest are by the cave." He turned his attention to Aerrow, "there's no use wasting them. Master Cyclonis might appreciate them"

Aerrow didn't know what to do. He was trying to think of a plan, but it was hard to when a razor sharp long blade was inches from his face.

He heard Stork mutter "...this plan was doomed from the start." And then heard him yelp as he was thrown at the rest of the group.

They all sat several meters in front of Aerrow, between him and the Condor.

Dark Ace suddenly knelt down and yanked Aerrow up into a sitting position so he was facing his team. Aerrow sagged slightly, his head pounding. The world tilted and he tilted with it, but Dark Ace righted him again with a shove to his side.

The small fires created by the crashed skimmers burned near bye, and Aerrow could feel the sweat building up on his forehead and around his eyes. His lashes were sticking together, creating small spikes and he blinked furiously, trying to focus. He needed to concentrate. The rest of his team were watching him worriedly. But he couldn't think. The edges of his vision swam slightly but he blinked harder.

"I guess, seeing as you didn't die the way we planned, were just gonna have to do it here and now. And everyone can watch Aerrow be the first to go" Dark Ace said loudly, gripping Aerrow's hair in one hand and holding the blade to his throat with another.

He drew his weapon hand back, firmly holding his hair, and swung downwards, aiming to cut Aerrow's neck.

This was it. It was over. Aerrow thought. He just gazed at his squadron in apology.

Dark Ace stopped short of Aerrow's skin by a few centimetres.

Aerrow's eyes widened and his chest heaved. Why was he still alive?

"Or..." Dark Ace said, crouched down behind Aerrow, breath hot near his ear. "We could make them watch you suffer"

"Don't-" Aerrow started. He didn't want his squad to see him get beat up and not be able to help. "Don't do this" He was so angry, and so freaking _weak_!

But even as he said it, Dark Ace gestured for two Talons to hold him upright and he stepped back, facing the Storm Hawks.

"You're in for a treat!" He told them gleefully.

Their eyes were wide as they realised what was about to happen and they all burst out in anger

"You can't do this!" Piper shrieked at them, while Junko yelled "Let him go!"

Dark Ace ignored them and turned back to Aerrow.

"Ready Aerrow?" he asked in mock concern. And without waiting for an answer, he punched him hard in the gut.

Aerrow leant forward at the impact, but not very far and was pulled upright again by the Talons holding him.

One of the Talons holding his arms used one hand to hit the side of his face, snapping it to the other Talon.

"Urgh" he groaned, blood spilling from his split lip

The Talons were laughing and jeering, ignoring the shouts from Aerrow's team

"Hold his arms straight" Dark Ace instructed with malice, crouching down and picking up a large rock.

"I believe you tried to knock me out with a rock Aerrow?" he questioned, hefting his own rock towards Aerrow's arm.

"It hurt my feelings. Maybe this will make you think twice next time." That said, he hurled the rock down onto Aerrow's arm at the elbow joint.

The crack could be heard by all and Aerrow screamed, his legs buckling. The Talons still held him, increasing the pain in his arm.

Through hazy thoughts, Aerrow heard Dark Ace say, "although, there won't even be a next time"

He breathed deeply, trying not to vomit from the pain. Dark Ace was lifting the rock again. Aerrow couldn't believe it. He was going to break his other arm.

Before Dark Ace could do anything else, there was a sound in the trees behind them. Rustling and muted footsteps. But it was loud. Loud enough to stop Dark Ace in his tracks. Everyone looked around at the bushes, confusion and dread building.

Everyone, except for the pain induced haze of Aerrow, could feel the ground rumbling underneath their feet. Then there was a distant high pitched shriek answered by other shrieks a lot closer to the group near the Condor.

Then, before anyone realised what was happening, a herd of creatures burst their way into the clearing. They were fierce looking, twice the size of a grown man. They looked a lot like raptor dinosaurs but with two tails that had razor sharp points on the ends.

They had been drawn to the clearing by the explosions and by the looks of things, were looking for a fight.

Chaos erupted once more as the Storm Hawks took the opportunity to jump up from their kneeling position and make their way onto the Condor.

Other Talons were attempting to get on the vehicle, the only safe area at that time, aside from the cave.

Aerrow could see everyone scrambling, could see Talons get shredded to pieces by the dino-creatures and knew he had to move now or die.

He had been dropped by the Talons holding him and so first made it to his hands and knees. As he stood up, he caught site of Dark Ace running to the Condor, but falling forward as a passing creature sliced his back. Aerrow could tell it was shallow, and stood for a moment's indecision, wondering if even Dark Ace deserved to get torn apart. He was just about to run over and help him up when Piper collided into him, dragging him towards the Condor.

"C'mon Aerrow!" she shouted over the shrieks of the creatures and Cyclonians who were running around in disarray.

The Condor was starting up, and the access ramp beginning to close.

Piper jumped up, and turned to help Aerrow, who was cradling his arm and looking back towards Dark Ace.

"Don't even _think_ about it Aerrow!" she screamed to get his attention.

Aerrow didn't know what to do. As much as he hated Dark Ace, he didn't think he should die at the hands of these creatures. He could hear agonised screams coming from other Talons who were already injured and were being further torn apart by these blood thirsty animals.

Luckily, the decision was made for Aerrow when two unscathed Talons ran past and picked Dark Ace up, fleeing into the bushes. They could see they weren't going to make it onto the Condor. Best to ride away on their Skimmers when they had the chance.

Skimmers.

Aerrow, now being dragged up by his good arm onto the Condor, realised he didn't have his Skimmer. That he left it in the bush while Dark Ace had everyone else's loaded on the Condor.

But Piper was now hugging him, both safely on the Condor. Both home at last. And he figured he could always build a new Skimmer. Just like he would need new weapons.

They turned into the hanger, looking for other Talons who might have climbed aboard.

But there was no need. Junko, whose lip was bleeding quite badly, was already dragging some down to the brig.

Finn, who was sitting by himself, had taken off his shirt and was holding it to a gash in his thigh. He glanced up at Aerrow and Piper as they approached.

"How many Talons made it aboard?" Piper asked, Aerrow leaning against her, trying to stay focused.

"Junko found four. Took them out. We obviously received minor injuries, but mostly we're ok. Stork's doing a system sweep of the ship to see if we missed any. Looks like you got Aerrow ok?" He reported, looking from Piper to Aerrow worriedly.

"Yeah, we're ok. We cut it close though..." she looked meaningfully at Aerrow, then, " Let me help you to the infirmary Finn, that leg wound looks pretty bad..." she said

"Na, get Aerrow there first. Have you even looked at him?" Finn tried to smile, but couldn't quite pull it off.

"Guys. I'm standing right here" Aerrow said vaguely annoyed.

Starling walked in at that point, looking pleased.

"Everything was clear on the sweep. We have four Talon prisoners. Stork says that the Condor is as good as she ever was, and we're all together, alive." She bent down and with a bit of difficulty, pulled Finn to his feet.

Finn grunted in pain, Starling in exertion.

They were all still very weak. Aerrow wondered how they were going to cope for the first couple of days, when they were all so tired. They would probably need to take shifts constantly.

The four of them began making their way to the infirmary where they could get patched up.

Junko entered the garage where they were all still hobbling.

"Prisoners secured." He said, clapping Aerrow gently on the back.

His lip had stopped bleeding now but he looked very tired.

"I'll go check on Stork and Radarr" he said, moving on.

Aerrow made it to the infirmary, fading fast.

He lay on a sick bed, opposite Finn who was getting his leg stitched.

"I have to set your arm Aerrow" Piper said, injecting him with something. "But hopefully you won't feel it, this is a sedative"

Aerrow protested as he could feel sleep already pulling at him. "Wait. You guys need more... rest than I do..." the sedative already pulling him under.

"Just relax Aerrow. Everything's going to be okay" she said.

Aerrow looked into her eyes at that point, seeing the shadows under them and the pallid look of her skin. Her cheeks were sunken a little from malnutrition, but she was smiling. And he could see that it was true. They were going to be okay.

They were finally safe.

**The END!**

**I hope the ending was okay... **

**also, I did begin this story a fair while ago, back when I didnt think the plot through very well. And I realise that it may be kinda hard to believe. Mainly the part where the squadron are locked away for, like, three weeks and were able to survive. But by the time I realised how unbelievable it was, I didnt know how to fix it. so sorry about that :)  
**

**And thanks for all the reviews and thanks again for reading!**


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